The Dark Plot
by Brilly
Summary: Finished! What if Team Rocket came back, and was condicting experiments with Dark Pokemon? Takes place after Gold/Silver and has nothing to do with the Advance games.
1. It Begins...

Pokemon: The Dark Plot  
  
Part 1  
  
Chapter I  
  
It Begins...  
  
Pewter City: A gray town, with gray people. Nothing exciting ever happened there. At least until today. Today was the day when Jim arrived.  
  
He was asking around about Team Rocket. Nobody gave him much information, until he approached the Gym. The huge gray building loomed high above him. One door, no windows. Just gray bricks.  
  
Suddenly, a figure leaped out of the shadows! The large red R on his chest showed that he was a member of Team Rocket. He wore the black jumpsuit of a Grunt. One Pokeball on his belt showed that this wasn't going to be a tough match.  
  
The Grunt sized up his opponent. He looked about 13. He was average height, with a black shirt and knee-length jeans. Brown hair topped his head. It was short, with the front flipped up.  
  
Jim pulled a Moon Ball from his green backpack. He yelled, "Go, Moonstone!" and threw it. A bright light erupted. It formed into a Clefairy, which was nicknamed Moonstone.  
  
The Grunt threw his Pokeball, which contained a Murkrow. The black bird's huge wings stretched out, and it emitted a loud SQUAWK! "Murkrow, Sandstorm! Now!" the Grunt commanded. Jim pulled out his Pokedex. Moonstone wasn't hurt badly, but the Sandstorm still raged. "Moonstone, Doubleslap, now!" The Normal-type Pokemon ran up to the bird and started slapping it. Two, three, four, five hits! Jim's Pokedex showed that the Murkrow's health had been depleted. He had won!  
  
"Ha, ha! All right, Moonstone! You did it!" Jim said. The Grunt recalled his Dark Pokemon and ran off.  
  
* * *  
  
Call me Jim. I guess it all started when I saw the news. Team Rocket had attacked the Goldenrod Gym and taken it over. Whitney, the Gym Leader, had gone into hiding. I was from White City, where the entire Pokemon universe was centered. My best friend, Ryan, and my girlfriend, Jessica, were over at my place, watching some TV. We were flipping to the International Pokemon Tournament but there was a news broadcast instead.  
  
There was a girl being interviewed. A caption at the bottom of the screen said her name was Samantha, from the Goldenrod Gym. "Nothing was happening at the Gym, so we were just sitting around talking. Whitney, me, Whitney's boyfriend Mike, Victoria, Bridget, and Carrie were all there.  
  
"Suddenly, a man burst in the door. He was wearing a black tuxedo. The guy pulled out a black-and-gray Pokeball with a red 'R' on it. He threw it, and out came a black Persian. I'm not sure if it was alternately colored, or something else. Anyway, the Persian attacked Victoria. She fell over, and the cat turned toward Mike. Mike didn't send out his Dragonair or anything. He just ran out the door, screaming his lungs out. We didn't have any Pokemon that could stand up to this thing!  
  
"Whitney fainted. The last thing I saw before I blacked out, too, was a huge group of Team Rocket members running in. The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital, with the other girls, except for Whitney. Vicky had a large cut on her head. That's all I know."  
  
The camera swung towards the reporter. "Thank you, Samantha. Now, as I speak, Team Rocket has taken over Goldenrod City. Everyone has either gone into hiding or is gathered here at Ecruteak. The Dance Theater has been made into a makeshift hotel for everyone. If you have any information about the whereabouts of Gym Leader Whitney, please call the number on the bottom of your screen. She is about 5'10" with red hair, last seen in a white T-shirt with a Goldenrod Gym Badge on it and jean shorts. I'm Jack Woodson for Ecruteak News. Goodnight."  
  
The broadcast ended. I turned to Jessica, who was pale. "I...I...don't believe it," she said. "I thought Gold broke up Team Rocket." Ryan said, "Yeah, and who was the dude in the tux?" I realized who it was. "Giovanni! But why take over Goldenrod? Why not Saffron, or White?"  
  
Jessica glared at me. "Don't think that way. If it had been White, we'd be captured, or worse. We're safe here." Mike cut in. "But we're not safe. Team Rocket's back, and they could have hundreds more right outside town, for all we know!" Mike, always the optimist.  
  
"Shut up!" I said. "I don't think they're out there. They wouldn't invade everywhere at once. For now, we're safe, but what happens when they decide to invade? We need some protection, or someone to...That's it!!!" I ran out the door.  
  
Five minutes later, I was in Professor Oak's new lab in White City. "Professor? Prof Oak!" I heard something moving around in the back. "Um, Oak?" He came into view. He was a middle-aged man with gray hair. "Who is it?" he asked. "It's me, Jim." He smiled. "Ah, Jim. What can I do for you?"  
  
* * *  
  
Oak gave me an Igglybuff and a Cleffa. I named them Puff and Moonstone. I caught a Marl (baby Marill) the next day. Prof Oak told me to call Bill. I did just that.  
  
"Hello? This is Bill. Who is this?" he said when he answered. "This is Jim. I don't have an inventory, yet. I'd like to set up one. My identity is PKMN Trainer," I answered. "Oh yes, Jim. Oak told me about you. Actually, he has started an inventory for you. I'm submitting your password to your Pokegear. Check Box 1 when you log on. Thanks for calling!"  
  
Inside Box 1 was an Eevee. Cool! I withdrew it and left a thank-you e-mail for Bill.  
  
* * *  
  
Jess and Ryan were torn up about my leaving, but they let me go without tears. I promised that I would be back soon and that I would call every day...  
  
I did call, until one day. I dialed Jessica's number, but her mom picked up. "H-hello? Who is this?" she asked, apparently scared. "This is Jim. What's wrong? Is it Jess?" I asked. "I'm afraid it is. Jessica has disappeared. We don't know if she ran away or was kidnapped. There are no ransom notes, nothing," she said. "I'm sorry. Call me if anything comes up." I said.  
  
I hung up, then immediately called Ryan. "Yeah? Whadda ya want?" he said gruffly. "Hey, Ryan. I heard about Jess. Do you know anything?" I asked. "It's all my fault! I was gonna call 'er when I had the chance, but instead, I was online! If I had called her, the kidnappers would've left before they had the chance to grab her!" he said. "No, it's my fault. She's probably looking for me..." I said softly. "Don't blame yourself." He hung up. I sighed.  
  
* * *  
  
I wouldn't find out what happened to Jessica until I reached Johto...  
  
That's what scared me... 


	2. Remotely Normal

Chapter II  
  
Remotely Normal  
  
I stepped into the great gray building. I saw a stairwell on the other side of the room. I pulled out Bubbly's Pokeball. As soon as I stepped onto the battle floor, a boy stepped out. He was a Camper. "You're goin' down!" he said.  
  
"You wish!" I yelled, throwing the Pokeball. Out flew a bright blue Marill. I had raised it from a Marl. He looked like a mouse, with large ears and a long, black tail with a ball on the end of it. The ball was filled with a type of oil that floated on water, keeping it from sinking.  
  
I pulled out my Pokegear. Prof. Oak had upgraded it. It now had a Radio Card, which let me listen to radio stations on it, a Map Card, with Kanto and Johto, A Phone Card, which enabled me to convert the Pokegear into a cell phone, and my Pokedex, all rolled into one! Oak had even installed the latest version of Pokemove, the program for checking Pokemon moves. The Pokedex could even identify unknown Pokemon and their types.  
  
The Camper sent out a Sandslash, which was at L27. Bubbly was at L22, but it could handle this. "Bubbly, Rollout!" I yelled. Bubbly rolled into a ball and charged the Sandslash, but he bounced right off. The move was Rock-type! Ground types, like Sandslash, are strong against Rock! "Sandslash, dig a hole!" the Camper commanded. Sandslash obeyed. Marill was unprotected against the hit, and I didn't know when Sandslash would jump out below Bubbly.  
  
"Bubbly, Defense Curl!" Now he would be somewhat protected... Suddenly, Sandslash burst out of the ground, sending Bubbly flying! Dexter (my Pokedex) said that the damage was reduced by 10 hit points.  
  
Now, it was time to get serious. "Bubbly, Water Gun, now!" I yelled. Bubbly puffed up and spurted a jet of clear water at Sandslash. It hit hard, sending the spiky Pokemon into the opposite wall. There it stayed, its spikes stuck in the wall. The Camper recalled his mouse Pokemon and walked up to me. "That Marill of yours sure is strong. Where did you catch it?" he asked, while holding out his hand. I shook it, and said, "A route south of White City."  
  
He thanked me and left to heal his wounded Pokemon. "Next stop, Bro-- " I started to say, but I was cut off when Bubbly started glowing! The ears and tail grew longer. The white spot on its belly moved to the lower part of its body. The white area now looked like bubbling water. It had evolved into Azumarill!  
  
Now, I was ready for Brock. I climbed up the stairs to the second floor. It was on the roof, so Grass-types could use Solarbeam. There was a pool of water over to one side, which Bubbly ran over to.  
  
"Jim. I've heard about you...but where? Ah, yes. Jerry, the kid you just beat, called me. You have a strong Mar-, I mean Azumarill..." Brock was standing on a platform on the other side of the roof. As I stood there, a platform rose up from beneath my feet!  
  
Brock pulled out a black Heavy Ball. He threw it, and a huge Graveler flew out. It had four rough-skinned arms. Azumarill had revived itself in the pool, so he ran up to me. Brock laughed. "I've been building up the Special Defense of my Pokemon for years. You can't penetrate their shields!!!"  
  
"I can try!" I yelled. I inserted my Pokegear into the slot on the platform. A screen showed Bubbly and Graveler's stats. "Bubbly, Water Gun, now!" Bubbly leaped into the air and sprayed water at Graveler, knocking it down. The huge Rock Pokemon stood up. Its health was almost depleted...  
  
Suddenly, it began to glow. Rays of light flew out of the hard shell. "Bubbly! Jump into the pool and dive under!" I knew what was going on. Plexiglass walls rose up in front of Brock and I. Suddenly, Graveler exploded! Brock must have trained it to SelfDestruct when it was almost gone.  
  
When the smoke cleared, I could see Graveler, lying on the ground, unmoving. Bubbly jumped out of the pool. Brock recalled the four-armed Pokemon and sent out the Rock Snake Pokemon, Onix. "Onix, Tackle attack!" he commanded. Onix jumped into the air, coming straight at Bubbly! "Bubbly, use your Bubblebeam to knock it back!" The Aquarabbit spurted a beam of powerful bubbles at Onix. Its Tackle was interrupted by the blast, and it careened backward, right into the pool!  
  
"You have done well, Jim, but now it is time for the real challenge!" Brock pulled out an Ultra Ball. What? I... What was this?  
  
What came out made me realize that I should have studied up on Brock and his Pokemon. Out of the ball came a large shellfish-like Pokemon, with large scythes on its arms. I gasped. "A Kabutops!"  
  
"Yes, with its water-type characteristics, it is impervious to your Azumarill's attacks. Absorb, now!" A Grass-type attack! Kabutops raised a large scythe, and a ball of green energy was sapped from Bubbly...  
  
* * *  
  
As I slowly trudged out of the Gym, someone standing next to the door said to me, "The Kabutops got ya too, huh?" I turned around to see a tall boy wearing jeans and a yellow T-shirt. "Call me Jack. I breed Electric Pokemon and sell them, or in this case, give them away." He held out a small red Pokeball. "Go on, take it." He gave me a friendly smile. I took the ball and threw it. Out came a small gray Pokemon. It looked strangely like a TV remote...  
  
"It's called a Plae. Almost ready to evolve," he said. "What do you want in return?" I asked suspiciously. "Only friendship. I never stay in one place long enough to make friends. But you look like you are traveling all over the place, so you can have Plae, as long as I can come with you." I thought about it for a minute, then I said, "Okay. I'm going to heal my Azumarill at the Pokemon Center."  
  
As we walked, I checked my Pokedex about Plae. It was a newly discovered Pokemon. " 'It is able to freeze opponents for up to five seconds. During this time, it sends an electric jolt at them. A remote Pokemon of the Electric element,' " I read.  
  
At the Pokemon Center, I called up Prof. Oak. "Hello? Hey, Jim. Oh! Jack! How are you? I haven't seen you in a while. Have you given Jim a Plae yet?" Jack laughed. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. I'm fine. How are you?"  
  
"Are you in Pewter City? Say hello to Brock for me. Have you challenged him yet?"  
  
"Yes, but he surprised me with his Kabutops." I said. Oak laughed. "That happens a lot. Don't worry, you'll beat him next time. Well, I have to go. Ryan wants to speak with me."  
  
He hung up. I took my Pokemon to the counter. A nurse took my Pokemon and walked off to heal them. As we waited, I told Jack why I was collecting Gym badges.  
  
"Will Jim report to the front counter, please? Jim, report to the counter." a voice said over the intercom. I got my Pokemon and headed out the door, Jack behind me. We reached the Gym, still as gray and boring as ever. I walked in, while Jack went to check out the new museum, which had just opened.  
  
"Brock! Come out where I can see you!" I yelled. He came out of the shadows. "I'm here for a rematch!" The platform once again rose up. "Are you ready for more punishment?" he asked. I pulled out Sparky's (Plae's) Pokeball. "I'm ready this time!"  
  
He hadn't recalled his Kabutops since I left. I saw the sunlight reflecting off one of its scythes. It stepped out. "Kabu!" it said. "Sparky, I choose you!" I threw the ball, and out popped Plae. I pulled out my Pokedex. It had some good attacks. "Plae, Thundershock!" Kabutops froze. A small lump on the top of Sparky's body lit up and sent a jolt of electricity out. The shellfish unfroze right before the attack hit, but didn't have time to dodge the lightning.  
  
My Pokedex showed half damage. This was a good Pokemon, for a baby! "Kabutops, Absorb its health!" Brock yelled. The attack didn't deal much damage. "Spark attack!" A spark flew from Plae this time. Kabutops didn't know what hit it until it was down for the count.  
  
Brock pulled out yet another Great Ball, which held an Aerodactyl, I was sure. He threw it. I held my breath...  
  
But instead of an Aerodactyl, out came an Omastar! Another Water/Rock combo. "Recover, Plae!" Plae regained almost all of its health. "Spike Cannon!" Omastar's spikes shot out at Sparky, hitting it four times. "Thunderbolt!" Plae looked into the sky. A huge bolt of lightning flew down and struck Omastar, felling it.  
  
I had won!  
  
A small compartment on the platform opened, revealing an octagon- shaped Boulderbadge! I was about to recall Plae when it started glowing. It changed shape, now looking like a small TV set with eyes on the screen and a VCR attached to it by a cord. "Fastforwurd," a voice said. I turned around to see Jack, who was standing by the stairs. "Told ya it was about to evolve." I laughed. "Yes, you did." I grabbed my Boulderbadge. The platform lowered itself back down to the ground. Now it was time to go to Mount Moon...  
  
* * *  
  
The huge mountain loomed above me. I had heard that the tunnel had worn down over the years. I headed in.  
  
As I stepped in, a figure ambushed me. He jumped out of the shadows next to the entrance. I got up. "I've been waiting for you, Jim," he said. It couldn't be! Then I saw the dirty-blond hair. "Ryan! Hey, what's up?" I said. "Ha! You don't know what's up? Zubat are up!" he said in a rude tone. I looked up. He was right. Hundreds of Zubat were clinging to the ceiling! I thought I saw a weird flash, but Ryan said, "You were right. It is your fault that Jessica is missing." He pulled out a Pokeball. "Prof Oak gave me a Pokemon of my own. One with an advantage against your puny Cleffa. Go, Hitmonlee!" He released his Hitmonlee. "Now you send out your Cleffa!" he yelled.  
  
It looked like he was pretty mad at me, so I sent out Moonstone. "What? It evolved already? You have a way with Pokemon. Oh well, Tyrogue evolved quickly, too."  
  
I knew what would get Hitmonlee down fast. It was male, and Moonstone was female, so... "Attract, Moonstone!" Clefairy started releasing a powerful scent, which attracted Pokemon of the opposite gender. Hitmonlee froze. It had worked! Hitmonlee had become infatuated, and was now at Moonstone's mercy!  
  
"Moonstone, Metronome!" Moonstone waved her hands back and forth. Suddenly, she launched a burst of Psychic energy from her forehead. Hitmonlee was a fighting type, weak against Psychic, so he was down easily.  
  
Ryan was mad now. He sent out a metallic bird. Skarmory! I sent out Sparky. "Spark, now!" It missed. The spark of electricity bounced away, hitting the wall and disappearing. "Skarmory, Metal Claw, now!" Ryan commanded.  
  
The Flying-Steel combo flew at Fastforwurd, claws ready to strike. Fastforwurd leaped out of the way at the last second, but the claws hit the VCR, dealing some damage. Another Spark, which hit, but Skarmory wasn't down, only paralyzed. It fell to the ground. "Thundershock!" was the last thing Skarmory heard before it drifted into unconsciousness.  
  
"How could you, of all people, beat me? Where'd you get the TV set? I built up a team for Normal-types, and you have a Fastforwurd?" Ryan yelled. He stormed off, still mumbling to himself.  
  
As Jack and I continued through the dark cave, he asked, "How do you know that guy?" I sighed. "We were best friends back in White City. Me, Jess, and Ryan were a pretty close circle." A Zubat shrieked. "How did you meet Jessica, anyway?" he asked. "Well, I attend Earl's Pokemon Academy, and so does she. Three years ago, we both were finally old enough to enroll..."  
  
* * *  
  
August 20, 1998. The year I turned 10. The day I started attending EPA. I was a crazy kid, obsessed with Fire Pokemon. I especially loved Charizard. My mom finally let me enroll at EPA in White City. I took the Fire course.  
  
I walked into the classroom. The walls were painted red, orange, and yellow. I was wearing my favorite cap, a red one that said, "Cinnabar Magmar" on it. They were the best Kanto/Johto football team that year. I saw a ton of other kids, but one caught my eye. He was wearing a Magmar cap, too. I sat next to him. "My name's Jim," I said, smiling. "I'm Ryan." After that, we were best friends.  
  
That year, I learned all I could about Fire Pokemon. I also met Jessica, whose favorite Pokemon was, and still is, Growlithe. She was okay, but she never noticed me.  
  
The next year, I took the Normal course. That's when I became interested in the relationship between Normal- and Dark-type attacks. Jessica was still in the Fire course, but Ryan was in Steel, which was only for a semester, since the Steel-type had only just been discovered. Then he took the single-semester Fighting course. That year, Jessica actually called me for help with her homework!  
  
The third year, last year, I took Dark. Jessica also took that course. Near the first of the year, we had our Homecoming. The White City Wigglytuff had their game at the EPA football field. I liked Jess that year, but she hated me, or so I thought. A girl in the Electric class lived on Jessica's street. I asked Hope to ask Jess what she thought of me, but she must have said something that tipped Jess off.  
  
The next week, Homecoming week, Jessica asked me about Hope. "Did you ask her to ask me something?" I stammered out, "Um...no." I ran out of the building.  
  
Everyone at school had a date to the Homecoming dance except those who weren't going. I wasn't going. But I was going to the party after the dance. So was Jess, or so everyone said.  
  
At the game, Paul, a guy in the Dragon class, who knew that I liked Jess, asked me if I wanted to go to the party with Jessica. He said, "If I ask her, 'If someone asked you to go to the party with him, would you say yes?' " I said it was okay. He asked her, and she said, "Yes, I will go to the party with Jim." Paul was surprised.  
  
At the party, I waited for Jessica. I sat on a bench with Ryan for thirty minutes before I decided to sit by the bonfire. She never showed up.  
  
The next Monday at school, I asked Jess what happened. "My brother ha a football game in Johto, and we got back later than I expected. I'm sorry." She hadn't stood me up. Good. "It's okay, but to make up for it, will you go out with me?" I asked. I waited for the no, but it never came.  
  
She stood there. "Y-yes. I will." She smiled. "But I thought you hated me. You don't?" Huh? "I thought you hated me!" I laughed.  
  
* * *  
  
"And we've been going out since then." I finished. "Wow. And now she's missing?" Jack asked. "Yeah."  
  
Suddenly, we came to a fork in the path. We went left. A ladder was at the end of the tunnel. When we got to the top, there was dark sky. I looked around. A small shop stood next to a fenced field with a gate. A rock stood in the middle of the field.  
  
"We took the wrong path!" Jack said. "No, we didn't. We can pick up some Moon Stones here." I said, pointing to the shop. A sign said, "Mt. Moon Square: DON'T LITTER." We walked into the store. A guy behind the counter said, "May I help you?" I walked up. "Yes. Do you know where we can get some Moon Stones?" He pulled out an Ultra Ball. "Yes, but first ya gotta battle me!"  
  
We walked outside the store. He threw the ball. Out came an Articuno. "What the...?" I said. "Where'd you get the bird?" I asked. I'd never seen one outside of captivity. "I'll tell ya if ya beat me!" he yelled. Out came Fastforwurd. "Thunderbolt!" The huge bolt hit the Articuno. Half damage?!? Wow! Something was wrong here... "Wait!" Jack yelled.  
  
"That's not a real Articuno!" he said. "It's a robot! Look at the eyes! They're yellow, not red!" I realized why Sparky had done so much damage to it. I saw the eyes. They had no pupils, no color except that they were totally yellow.  
  
"How did you figure that out?!?" the guy asked. "I've seen you before. My Power short-circuited your 'Mewtwo'." Jack said. Power was the evolved form of Fastforwurd. It looked like a TV with eyes, but it had amplifiers attached to it.  
  
"You! You're the idiot who found me out! You had pity on me, so you didn't report me!" the guy said. I checked my Pokedex. It said that the guy was classified as a Cooltrainer...  
  
"Look, I'll tell you where the Moon Stones are. See the field over there? At night, Clefairy come out and dance around that rock, but only on Mondays. If you use Rock Smash on the rock, there'll be a Stone in there. I would charge you, but today I'll break the Moon Stone into two for free."  
  
I ran over to the rock. Sure enough, there were Clefairy dancing around it, they scattered when I approached. I sent out all of my Pokemon to see if they could break open the rock without Rock Smash. "All right, everybody, use your strongest attacks!" Bubbly used Rollout, Sparky used Spark, Puff used Pound, Moonstone used Metronome, which made it use Blizzard, and Eevee used Tackle. The rock was barely affected.  
  
I recalled all of them and went back to Jack and the weird Cooltrainer. "Where can I get Rock Smash?" I asked. "Some Geodude in the cave already know it," the guy said. I ran back to the ladder. I popped out a Heavy Ball, custom made by Kurt and given to me by his friend the Prof. "These babies can catch a heavy Pokemon like Geodude almost immediately!"  
  
I dropped down the ladder and landed hard, but I was okay. I needed those Moon Stones! The first rocky Geodude I ran into didn't know Rock Smash, but I defeated it for experience anyway.  
  
The next one knew the Fighting-type move. I threw the black-and-gray ball. I nicknamed it Rocky, and practically flew up the ladder! I ran over to the huge rock. "Rock Smash!" The rock crumbled. I picked up the glowing blue stone hidden underneath. "Here it is." I said to the Cooltrainer. He took it and we went into the store. The real owner had returned. He was a tall man that looked like...  
  
Jessica's father! I forgot that he worked at Mt. Moon Square.  
  
"What are you doing here, Jim?" he asked. "Didn't Jess tell you?" I asked. I'm traveling all over Kanto." He sighed. "No, I'm afraid she didn't talk about you much before...you know. Anyway, this is Philip, my nephew. Has he been helpful?" I laughed. "Uh, yes. He's been very helpful. He was just showing us how to get the Moon Stone." Jack said. "Oh, so you are this week's winner of the Moon Stone Search!" said Jess's dad. "Phil here was going to break it in half for us..." Philip gave me a helpless look, "...because, um, we know Jessica!" I had saved him, for now...  
  
"Oh, okay. Just don't make a mess." Jess's dad walked to the back of the store to restock the Portrait Mail. Only $50. Sorry. He asked me to advertise. Anyway...  
  
Philip broke the stone in half. I slipped him $100. He looked like he needed it. Thanks, I saw him mouth.  
  
I walked outside and sent out Puff and Moonstone. Jigglypuff's eyes glowed eerily in the moonlight. I held out the Stones to them. Jigglypuff's ears grew longer. So did her body. Both changed, but not dramatically. You could still see Jigglypuff and Clefairy in them.  
  
I recalled them and looked up at the full moon. Suddenly, I saw a dog-like Pokemon get up on a distant hill. It tilted its head back and howled. As it howled, fire jetted out of its mouth. I yanked out my Pokedex to see what it was, but when I looked up, the hound was gone!  
  
"What was that noise?" Jack said as he came out of the shop. "I'm not sure, but it was a Pokemon." I answered. My Pokedex beeped in my hand. Wigglytuff was trying to learn Sunny Day. Sunny Day? I opened up the attack program, Pokemove 2000.  
  
Sunny Day:  
  
Enhances all fire-type moves used for 2-5 turns. Also found to have strange effect on any Dark-type Pokemon.  
  
Why was Wigglytuff...? Oh well. I let it learn the move. I was still a Fire fan.  
  
We returned to the darkness of the cave. I saw the weird sparkle on the ceiling again, but this time I saw what it was. A Zubat flew down from the ceiling. It was green! Green? A colored Pokemon! It sparkled, as did all other colored Pokemon. I had to catch it! It was a male at L21. I pulled out a white Fast Ball. It had a high Speed rating. Funny, I'd never seen a fast Zubat... Must be the alternate colorings.  
  
"Fast Ball, go!" I threw the white ball. He was mine! The only nickname for it was Greenbat. Wow! Colored Pokemon were rare. Well, now I had a Zubat.  
  
* * *  
  
As I walked out of the cave on the Cerulean side, I looked up at the moon.  
  
Wasn't it full earlier? A third of it was dark! 


	3. Dark Waters

Chapter III  
  
Dark Waters  
  
The sun was rising when we finally made it out of Route 4 with its ledges and Spearow. I met Hope along the way, the girl who lived on Jessica's street. We battled, and Rocky defeated her Flaaffy.  
  
In the distance, I could see the beautiful blue-roofed buildings of Cerulean City. The sun's rising made strange colors on the lake. "Race ya!" Jack called. We ran to the city's west gate. He beat me, of course. I hadn't slept in forty-eight hours.  
  
Immediately, we went to the Pokemon Center. It was really crowded. "Rob beat you two, too, huh?" a nearby trainer asked. "Huh? Who's Rob?" I asked. "The new Gym leader. Misty settled down in Olivine in Johto," he said. "He's holdin' a tournament at the Gym to see if anyone can beat him. You new around here?"  
  
I nodded. "We just came from Pewter. Our Pokemon're pretty beat up," said Jack. "Well, Rob's tough. Watch out for Godzilla," said the kid. Godzilla? I was about to ask him when the intercom called for Parker. "That's me!" he said and went up to the counter.  
  
In front of us were seven Youngsters in bright yellow shirts. One girl, who looked older than the rest, turned around. "Hi." I said with a friendly smile. "If you don't mind my asking, why are you all wearing the same clothes?" She grinned. "We're the Pichu Fan Club! Do either of you have a Pichu or a female Pikachu?"  
  
"Yeah!" Jack said. He pulled out a yellow-and-black striped egg. "It hasn't hatched yet, but it's bred for strength and speed." The girl giggled with delight. "I'll trade you my Spheroid for it!"  
  
"You have a Spheroid?!? I can't seem to find a Voltorb, much less get it to evolve into a Spheroid!"  
  
They walked off to the stairs, to the Trade Center. Brandon and the girl left their Pokemon with me to heal them. At the counter, a Blissey took them. I sat on a bench to wait.  
  
All around me, Pichu fan club members were talking, eating, feeding their Pokemon, and updating their Pokedexes over the phone. I decided to update mine, too. I called the Prof. I loaded my Pokedex into the slot. "Here's my Pokedex. Could you rate it?" The data downloaded into his PC. While I was waiting, Jack ran up to me.  
  
"Look what I got for that Pichu!" He sent out what looked like an Electrode, but it was sideways. One half of the ball was red, and the other was white. One half of the face was smiling, the other glaring! "Hello, Jack." said Prof. Oak. "Hello, sir. Have you seen my Spheroid?" asked Jack. Oak laughed. "Actually, I haven't ever seen a Spheroid. None of my friends in Johto or on the Orange Islands have one to send me for study. Would you be willing to transfer it to my lab so I can study it?"  
  
"I'd love to help out an old friend." He inserted the Pokeball and it disappeared, reappearing at the lab in White City. "Anyway, how's my Pokedex coming?" I asked. "Here it is. I've added in new data for Spheroid and your green Zubat." My Pokedex ejected from the slot. I looked up Spheroid. "Spheroid. The Ball Pokemon. Evolved form of Electrode. Always happy, yet always mad. Its fluctuating moods cause it to explode without warning."  
  
"Watch out, Professor!" But I was too late. Spheroid exploded in the lab, cutting off the connection between phone lines. "Oh no!" Jack yelled. "It's okay. Explosion only hurts Pokemon. Usually..." I said, laughing.  
  
"Jim, Jack, and Kendra, please report to the front counter. Your Pokemon are healed." We went up to the counter. The girl from the PFC came, too. "See you later, guys!" said Kendra. "Thanks for the Pichu! I'll take good care of it!"  
  
* * *  
  
Inside the Gym, a brown-haired boy and a blond girl stood on rafts on opposite sides of a huge pool. Two more rafts floated in the middle, each with a Pokemon. "Starmie, Swift!" the boy yelled. Must be Rob, I thought. "Pikachu, dodge it! Quick Attack!" You can't dodge a Swift attack, I thought. The Pikachu flew across the water, it was moving so fast. It moved out of the way of the stars, but they changed direction and followed, moving faster every second. Pikachu was hit!  
  
"End match! Rob is the winner, over Katy!" an announcer said. "Are there any more challengers on the Cascade level?" Rob yelled. I was up on the first floor, and the pool was in the basement. I jumped down onto the raft where Katy was standing. It drifted over to the floor. I helped Katy off, and then the raft went back to its original position. "I challenge you!" I said, pulling off my backpack.  
  
What could I use? Bubbly was at a higher level than Starmie, but Starmie was part Psychic. Sparky!!!  
  
"Starmie, go!" Rob yelled. The purple starfish flew out of the water and spun at me. I dodged, but fell into the water. My backpack stayed on the raft.  
  
I climbed back on and sent out Fastforwurd. "Ah, a Fastforwurd. Good choice." said Rob. "Fastforwurd, Thunderbolt, now!" A huge thunderbolt came down through the sunroof. It hit Starmie hard. It fell into the water.  
  
The Starmie jumped out of the water. Glowing brightly, it landed on the raft. Recover!  
  
"Thunder Wave!" A wave of electricity flew from Sparky's attenae, going in all directions. It hit Starmie full force.  
  
It was Paralyzed!  
  
One Spark took down the starfish. "You're not a rookie, I can see. But now it is time to feel true pain via Water Pokemon!" said Rob, laughing.  
  
Next he used a Lapras. "Thunderbolt! Full power!" This one came from the sky as well as its antennae. Half damage?!? This was going to be tough...  
  
I called, "Thunder Wave!" right when Rob commanded an Ice Beam. The two attacks collided. Ice Beam, being the stronger attack, broke through the wave.  
  
"Reflect the Ice Beam back at Lapras!" Sparky created a shield of electricity around itself. The Ice Beam bounced off, heading back towards Lapras.  
  
"Dive underwater, Lapras!" Rob called. The ice hit the wall behind where the Lapras had been, freezing the wall behind it. "Lapras, now!" Rob called.  
  
Huh? Now what? Suddenly, Lapras popped out of the water below Sparky's raft. It flew through the air and landed in the water. Sparky fainted immediately, but its Pokemon Power, Short-circuit, activated, sending electricity all throughout the pool. The Ice-Water combo was fried, naturally.  
  
We both recalled our Pokemon. I sent out Puff. Rob sent out a Seaking.  
  
"Wigglytuff! Slam the Seaking!" Puff jumped high into the air and Slammed down. Seaking dodged at the last second, so Wigglytuff hit the water and kept floating. It couldn't swim, and it just floated, being a Balloon Pokemon. I recalled it. Now who could I use?  
  
"Bubbly, go!" The Aquarabbit came out, "bubbly" as ever. Get it? Bubbly? Never mind. Anyway, "Bubbly, dive to the bottom!" The one thing Azumarill could do that Marill couldn't was hear underwater. Seaking flew out of the water and landed on the side of the pool, unconscious. Bubbly had hit it underwater!  
  
Had I won?  
  
My question was answered when Rob pulled out another ball. He threw it. Out came a bluish crocodile-like Pokemon. Feraligatr!  
  
Rob and I both called, "Hydro Pump!" Both Water-types shot out a huge blast of water. The two jets hit each other, stopping. Every few seconds, Bubbly's would move closer to Feraligatr, then move back towards Azumarill.  
  
"Come on, Bubbly! You can do it!" and "More power, Feraligatr!" rang throughout the huge Gym. Bubbly's blast started moving toward Feraligatr, but faster than it had been...  
  
The water flew towards Feraligatr's huge jaws. It hit, sending the crocodile flying back into the section of the wall that was covered in ice. It hit so hard, the ice broke!  
  
Rob fell to his knees. "I...give...take...the...badge," he said, apparently  
  
amazed at Bubbly's strength. A Seel popped out of the water and opened its mouth. On its tongue sat a raindrop-shaped badge. The Cascade Badge!  
  
As I started out the large double-doors, Rob called to me. "Wait! You are a strong Trainer. Can I treat you to lunch?"  
  
* * *  
  
"And so I'm collecting Gym Badges to get to Johto." I said. We were in the diner, an hour later. Jack was finishing up his hickory burger. I was telling Rob why I was in Cerulean and where I was going.  
  
"So you've lost your friends, and now you're going to Johto to stop Team Rocket?" asked Rob, who had swallowed the last of his pizza.  
  
"Something like that. Well, thanks for lunch..." I was about to get up and leave when a Swimmer burst in the door. It was Katy, the girl who had lost to Rob right after we got there.  
  
"Katy, what's wrong?"  
  
"Strange...fish...at...the...Gym...barely...escaped..." She collapsed into my arms. I laid her down on our booth. "Come on!" said Jack. The three of us ran out the door.  
  
When we got to the Gym, it looked like everyone was out of the pool...  
  
"Where's my Shellder?" a guy yelled. Suddenly, the afore-mentioned Shellder flew up out of the water!  
  
Below it, out came a golden fish-like Pokemon, the likes of which I'd never seen... I pulled out my Pokegear and put it into Pokedex mode. "Unknown fish Pokemon. Dark/Water combination. No other data found unless captured."  
  
It looked related to a Goldeen, but there was something...evil about it. I wonder...  
  
"I've gotta catch it!" I said. "I can't battle it. There's no other way to stop it!" Rob grabbed the airborne Shellder before the fish could hit it again. I pulled out a Lure Ball and threw it. A light erupted from the ball, hitting the Dark/Water fish. It was sucked inside.  
  
I grabbed the ball and put it away. A flash of movement at the other side of the pool caught my eye. I pulled out Greenbat's Pokeball and let him out. I had recently taught him Fly. I jumped on his back and we flew after the figure. As we got closer, I saw the whip on her belt...  
  
Team Rocket!!!  
  
"Supersonic on that rock!" Greenbat, still sparkling, opened his mouth and screamed, sending a shockwave at a rock next to the running girl. It exploded, sending pieces of rock all over her.  
  
She stumbled. Yes!  
  
We landed next to her. I jumped off and grabbed her shirt. A shadow covered her face...  
  
"What in the world did you think you were doing?!?" I yelled. "You could've killed somebody!" She paused, then said, "I was sent by Giovanni. He told me to test out the new project..." I interrupted her. "That fish? Test out?" She sighed. That sigh was familiar...  
  
"It was just supposed to..." Another interruption. "It was just supposed to do what? Destroy Cerulean?" I yelled.  
  
Beep, beep. She grabbed a communicator on her belt. "Yes, sir?" she asked. "How goes the test?" I knew that voice. Giovanni! "The, um, test is going fine, sir. Did you call for any other reason?" she said nervously.  
  
"No, but...Who's that with you?"  
  
She looked at me. "He's, uh, er, a potential new recruit. Yeah. That's it. A new recruit..." She moved the communicator towards me. "New, eh? Well, maybe. Anyway, have you succeeded?" Giovanni asked.  
  
The Grunt cleared her throat. "Um, the project...it...escaped," she said slowly.  
  
"WHAT?!? How did it escape?"  
  
"Some guy named..." She looked at me for help. I mouthed Jim. "Jim. Yeah. He surprised us. Project Dark Waters has failed, sir. Goldark has been captured."  
  
"Argh! Well, we must begin Project Thunderstorm immediately. I will send Agent Corey to your present location to help you. Giovanni out."  
  
The girl almost fainted, but I caught her. For the slightest moment, she looked like Jess...  
  
"Thank you. You saved my life. If you hadn't helped me, Giovanni'd have killed me!" she said, and she sounded like she meant it.  
  
"What is Project Thunderstorm?" I demanded. "Well, I..." she started to say.  
  
"Jim!" Rob and Jack ran up to me. The girl ran off. I stared after her.  
  
"Dude, what happened?" I told them what had happened. "Goldark, huh?" Rob said.  
  
* * *  
  
I mean it, she looked like Jessica! But she couldn't have... 


	4. The Dojo

Chapter IV  
  
The Dojo  
  
That night, Jack and me stayed at Rob's place. He said he'd come with us to Johto.  
  
When I woke up, it was morning. The TV was on. "Good, you're up." Rob said, and handed me a tray of eggs and bacon. "Tonight's breaking news: Terror in Vermilion." That got my interest.  
  
"Last night, Vermilion City police officers were surprised when they saw a strange Pokemon enter the Gym. They followed it in. It was 'what looked like a gray-and-black Voltorb'. As they followed it, it led them to the city's power supply, hidden in the basement of the Gym. It somehow drained the energy of the entire city.  
  
"The strange Pokemon then turned around. Seeing the two guards, it initiated a Selfdestruct. As you may know, Pokemon attacks usually hurt people, so this didn't hurt anyone. But, the little thing had absorbed so much energy that it destroyed the Gym. Investigators believe that this is linked to the attack in Cerulean yesterday. In other news, a strange group of islands near the Seafoam Islands has been found. There, Pokemon..." We turned off the TV.  
  
''We've gotta get to Vermilion!" I said. But we couldn't get there in an hour. We could've flown, but Greenbat didn't know the way. We had to walk...  
  
We headed south, to where the Underground Passage was. It led to Vermilion. But, there was a sign outside of the house where the ladder to the passage was located. "Closed due to fights. Sorry for the inconvenience. CERULEAN CITY POLICE."  
  
"Looks like we have to go through Saffron," said Rob. We went through the city gate, which was next to the passage entrance. Inside the building that served as the gate, a guard searched us. Then he said, "Sorry. After Team Rocket took us over, then Goldenrod, we've stepped up on security." He let us pass.  
  
Out the door was a whole other world. Or so it seemed. Saffron was huge! It was bigger than White! We visited every open building. They had Silph Co., creators of the Silph Scope, which could see ghosts, the Up- grade, which evolved Porygon into Porygon2, and they mastered the Master Ball. They gave us a free Up-grade, since we couldn't go past the first floor due to higher security.  
  
There was the Magnet Train, which ran from Kanto to Johto and back. It was also closed, since it ended up in Goldenrod.  
  
We met Mr. Psychic and his new wife. They were very friendly. "Welcome to the House of Psychic! We know what you want... Aha! You wanted this..." Mr. Psychic handed us a TM, number 29. It was Psychic (did I have to tell you that?).  
  
We had some lemonade at Paul's house. He and I reminisced about the past year at EPA. He would be back the next year, still in the Dragon course. I would be in the Baby Handling course.  
  
Next stop was the famous Copycat, best friend of Pink, the trainer who actually gave Red a challenge in his training. She told us about the time Red and Pink battled.  
  
* * *  
  
"It was when Red journeyed through Johto. Pink and I were visiting Clair in the Blackthorn Gym. He showed up, but Pink wouldn't let him battle Clair until he beat her first.  
  
"They had been good friends in Pallet Town. She had moved to Lavender, and he started his journey afterward. He used his Charizard. She sent out her secret weapon...  
  
"She had taught her Wigglytuff some great attacks: Fire Blast, Bubblebeam, Solarbeam, and Thunder. It was an ultimate Pokemon! Charizard went down in one Bubblebeam. Next came Blastoise, who just took a Thunder.  
  
"Venusaur was a little faster, and it got in a Stun Spore. Wigglytuff couldn't attack next turn. Venusaur got charged up for a Solarbeam...  
  
"But Wigglytuff got in a Fire Blast, and Venusaur was gone! Red was in trouble. Then he sent out his Snorlax, who had a really good Sp. Defense.  
  
"Wigglytuff couldn't budge the huge Pokemon. It used Take Down, and Wigglytuff was flattened.  
  
"Next out was Clefable. It used Metronome, and Mega Kick. Snorlax took a really long nap. Pikachu took down Clefable with a critical Thunder. After that, Pink used a Lickitung, which was probably her best Pokemon, next to Wigglytuff...  
  
"Lickitung used Bind, so Pikachu was stuck. It used Thundershock, and the wet tongue conducted the electricity. Lickitung was fried.  
  
"Next came Chansey, who used an Eggbomb to take out Pikachu. Red sent out Eevee, because Espeon wasn't discovered yet. It used Shadow Ball, which Red had found out in the grasses of Johto. He had taught it to Eevee, but he didn't know what type it was or what it did. It didn't effect Chansey, proving the attack to be Ghost.  
  
"Chansey used Barrage, which missed. Eevee used Take Down, taking Chansey down. Red had won! He went on to discover almost all of the new Pokemon and live and train in Mt. Silver until Gold defeated him. Pink went back to Lavender, where she started a new Gym."  
  
* * *  
  
We thanked Copycat and left. She had given us the TM Mimic. We gave her a spare Pokedoll we had in exchange.  
  
Saffron had two Gyms. One was Sabrina's Psychic Gym and the other was the Fighting Dojo, which had just reopened. Jack said he thought I wasn't strong enough to take on Sabrina, but the Dojo should be a good workout.  
  
We headed there. It was packed. A sign on the window said, "Now recruiting. Trainers with Fighting-type Pokemon who wish to become champions!"  
  
I saw a lot of people with Fighting-types, even some Normal-types that probably knew Fighting moves. The room was really big, with a wooden floor. It looked like the Fighting Room back at EPA...  
  
But now wasn't the time for memories. I had to train!  
  
A guy in the middle of the room looked like the leader. "Hey! Are you the Karate King?" I asked him. "No, but I'll still battle you!" He waved his hand. Up behind him came a huge Pokemon. A Hitmontop!  
  
It had a black marking on its chest instead of blue, and it was very tall. It was as tall as I was. They are usually about as tall as a seven- year old. "This is an unusual Hitmontop. Where did you get it?" I asked. "I bred it from my old Hitmonchan and my Houndoom. I evolved the Tyrogue into Hitmontop. It became almost Dark-like..." He trailed off.  
  
"Let's get this battle started!" I reached into my bag for... who should I use? Bubbly, Moonstone, Sparky, Puff, Rocky, or Greenbat? I decided on the Zubat.  
  
Out it came, sparkling bright as ever. "Leech Life!" Bug was strong against Fighting, right? Zubat flew down at Hitmontop. "Hitmontop, flip over and start spinning!" Zubat bounced right off.  
  
I couldn't get at it. The thing looked like a giant top... How do you mess up a spinning top? Either attack the ground to disturb the spin, or...  
  
"Fly at its tip!" Zubat flew at the Fighting-type, dangerously close to the ground. It hit the very tip of the enemy's head. Hitmontop was thrown off-balance, and it fell. That did some damage. "Now, Leech Life!"  
  
The green sparkling bat flew at the fighter. It latched on with its pointed teeth. As I watched on my Pokedex, Hitmontop's life slowly transferred to Zubat.  
  
30 HP, 20, 10, and then it was gone.  
  
"Hitmontop, return." said the Black Belt. "Go, Houndoom!" He threw a Great Ball. Out came a large black dog-like Pokemon. It had large horns on its head, and a few bones placed as armor on its back. It was intimidating.  
  
I sent out Eevee in place of Greenbat. "Fire Blast!" Houndoom was part Fire as well as Dark. "Dodge it, Eevee! Then come at it as fast as possible!"  
  
Houndoom opened its mouth and howled. Out came a jet of fire. Eevee jumped out of the way, then ran at the dog. "Now, Take Down!" Eevee jumped at Houndoom, right at its head. "You know what to do." said the martial artist. Houndoom turned and flipped its tail. Eevee was knocked away. It got up and growled. "Bite it!" Eevee jumped at the tail and grabbed hold. Houndoom howled and flipped its tail around. Eevee wouldn't let go. Bill had taught it well.  
  
Eevee let go and jumped on the Dark-Fire Pokemon's head. It bit one of the horns and pulled it off. It was just a bone covering! Houndoom blew some Embers up into the air, and they landed on Eevee.  
  
It jumped off and shook the hot sparks off. Some of the Embers had landed on Houndoom's head. It burned itself, and fell to the ground, exhausted from shaking and running in circles. I had won!  
  
As the battle ended, we heard clapping. I turned around to see Karate King Kiyo behind me. "Good work. You have defeated my top student. This is Ty." The kid I had just beat bowed.  
  
Ty wore a black belt around his white karate robe. The top of his dark hair was bleached blond.  
  
"Sir, I wish to battle you," I said. "You wish to battle this Gym's leader? You just have." He saw the confused look on mine and Ty's faces. "Soon, I will be too old to lead this Gym. I am passing on the leadership to Ty." Ty's eyes bugged out. "Me...wow..." he said.  
  
Kiyo held up a badge. "This isn't an official Kanto Gym League badge, but it is the Dojo's crest. You have earned it." I took the small clay badge. It had a picture of a Hitmontop, Hitmonlee, and Hitmonchan carved into it. I pinned it to my black backpack, next to the Boulderbadge and the Cascadebadge.  
  
"Thank you, sir," said Ty. He and the ex-Karate King stood up on the stage Kiyo raised his voice. "May I have your attention, please!" The room quieted. "Thank you. I have an announcement. I am retiring from this Gym." The large group of trainees gasped. "In my place will be Ty, my top student!"  
  
* * *  
  
After that Gym, we headed towards the south gate, towards Vermilion. We walked through the gate. On the other side was a beautiful route. Grass lined the sides of the path. A small pool of water sat near the middle.  
  
As we walked along the path, I saw movement in the grass. There was no wind, so what had made it move?  
  
Suddenly, an Oddish popped out of the grass. "Odd!" it said. Finally, a Grass-type! I pulled out a Level Ball and sent out Moonstone. The higher level would make Oddish easy to catch with the ball.  
  
I caught the Oddish. It was male, at a pretty high level.  
  
As we stepped through the gate to Vermilion, something hit me. The Pokemon I had seen at Mt. Moon had been a Houndour! I remembered the Houndoom howling and blowing fire.  
  
* * *  
  
But what was with the moon turning dark? 


	5. Buzzap!

Chapter V  
  
Buzzap!  
  
On the other side of the gate, we stepped into a boy in a black jumpsuit. Ryan! "What're you doing here? And in that uniform!" He grabbed me by the front of my shirt and growled. "Corey couldn't make it," and that was all he said before walking off. Corey? Where had I heard that name?  
  
Oh, no! Corey was supposed to help that Team Rocket girl I met in Cerulean. "We need to be careful," I told the others. "That girl from Cerulean is here, with help. That was Ryan, Rob. We used to be friends." I hoped that helped the confused look on his face, because I headed straight to the nearest building, the Pokemon Mart.  
  
"Where is the nearest Police Station?" I asked before the dude could even ask, "May I help you?"  
  
Then I realized who the guy was. Jessica's cousin Philip! "Hey, guys,'' he said. "Yo, Phil. What are you doing here?" asked Jack. "This is Jess's cuz, Philip," I told Rob. "Anyway, where're the police?"  
  
"Down by the docks. Why?" As I hurried out, I said, "Team Rocket is in Vermilion."  
  
At the Police Station, I saw a receptionist at a desk. "I need to talk to talk to the chief," I told her. She looked up from her paperwork. "Why? Is it an emergency?"  
  
"YES!!!"  
  
She pressed a button on her computer. "Chief Bryan to the front desk, please." Out came a man who looked pretty young to be a chief. His hair was a really light brown. He wore a black jacket that said "Capsule Corps" on the side.  
  
"I am Chief Bryan. Is this an emergency?" I was about to tell him when Philip burst in the door. "Someone's at the S.S. Aqua!"  
  
We ran to the docks. Lt. Surge was facing the huge ship. "They're back," he said. Jack ran to him. "Uncle Surge?" Uncle Surge?  
  
People were running down the ramp leading up to the Aqua. We ran up. On the deck, Ryan and the girl were throwing Smoke Balls everywhere. I saw the weird Electric Pokemon that destroyed the Gym. It was rolling around.  
  
I sent out Oddish. Grass was resistant to Electric. Rob sent out "Godzilla", his Feraligatr. Two Spheroids came out, too.  
  
"Oddish, PoisonPowder!" Oddish leaped into the air above the black and gray Pokemon and released a pinkish powder onto it. It rolled around in circles, Poisoned with its health slowly depleting.  
  
"Spheroid, PKMN Power: Buzzap!" Surge's Spheroid stopped rolling. It began to glow. It turned into a sphere of light. It floated into the air and towards Jack's. It fused into it, doubling Spheroid's Attack power.  
  
Wow! PKMN Powers were newly discovered, and they were really cool! There weren't many Pokemon that knew PKMN Powers, and those that did were rare. None of the leading Pokemon scientists could figure out how to teach a PKMN Power to a Pokemon. Some just learned them in the wild.  
  
"Spheroid, Speed Ball!" commanded Jack, since the lieutenant now couldn't command his. The powered-up Ball Pokemon rolled as fast as it could at the opposing Pokemon.  
  
It rolled right into it, hard. Team Rocket's genetically enhanced Pokemon didn't stand a chance. It rolled back, hitting the side of the deck and flying up! Then, the Poison got the last bit of health from its dark, round body.  
  
"Jim, that's IT!" Ryan ran at me. He made contact. I fell back, hitting the deck. "You've ruined my life for the last time, shrimp!" He ripped the Pokeballs from my belt and threw them over the edge of the boat. "Now, who's gonna save ya? Not your precious Pokemon!" He punched me in the jaw. I sent a kick right in his stomach; enough to send him back to where I could stand up. "What are you talking about?  
  
"When did I ruin your life?" He laughed. ''You left me behind! When Jessica disappeared, you shoulda come back for me! For weeks, all I could do was sit there, thinking about you two. My only friends, one abandoned me and the other came back."  
  
"What? One came back? I don't understand..." He threw another punch, which I blocked. I punched him in the eye, and he fell down. He got up, enraged.  
  
"You..." Ryan punched me so hard, I fell back off the side of the boat. Everything went dark.  
  
* * *  
  
"Jim?" I heard Jess's voice. "Jim, are you all right?" I was back in White, at EPA. This had to be a dream. I stood up. "Jessica? What happened?"  
  
"You and Ryan got into a fight. He started talking trash, and than he knocked you out." I was confused. This was several months before, a few weeks after Jessica and I got together.  
  
"Jim, are you all right?" Now the voice sounded like Chief Bryan's. I sat up. I was at the Pokemon Center, on a bench in the waiting room. "He's awake."  
  
I became aware of several people around me. Rob, Jack, Surge, Bryan, and Philip were all there. "What happened?" I asked.  
  
"We fished you outta the bay. We also got your Pokemon," Jack said, then showed me five wet and bedraggled Pokemon and one energetic Oddish, who hadn't fallen in.  
  
"What happened to Ryan and Je-- the girl?" She reminded me so much of Jessica, I kept calling her that. "They ran off after Ryan, um, decided to use you as fishbait," said the police chief.  
  
"Well, thanks. How long has it been?" Rob checked his watch. "You were underwater for about five minutes, then out cold for an hour."  
  
Wow. I'd been out for a while.  
  
"Thanks, kid, for helping save the Aqua," said Lt. Surge. He held out a badge, but I was too groggy to tell what it looked like. "Take this Thunderbadge, as thanks fer stoppin' those two."  
  
Well, I had one more badge. That was three of eight. Boy, I had a while to go. "We need to get going," I said as I tried to stand up. "Hold on, cowboy. You need to rest," said Bryan. "I've got to see to some other business, but here's my phone number if you ever need my help." He left.  
  
Jack handed me some food and a glass of water. I ate hungrily, but my mind kept wandering back to the girl. Was it just my mind making me think she looked like Jess?  
  
Or was that really Jessica, on their side? It couldn't be. And what about those Pokemon? How many freak mutations were there? Or were there only two? Waitaminute. What happened to the Electric one?  
  
"Guys! What happened to the mutant?" I asked. "We caught it. It was easy," said Jack. He handed me a Great Ball.  
  
"Rob. Take this Great Ball and Goldark's ball and send them to Oak." He complied. "Tell him that they're genetically-altered, somehow."  
  
"Hello, Professor? This is Rob. I'm the Gym Leader at Cerulean, and Jim asked me to give you these." He placed the balls on the machine. "They're genetically altered, somehow, by Team Rocket. Could you take a look at them?"  
  
"Thank you, Rob. How is Jim?" Rob sighed. "Not so good. He fell off the S.S. Aqua. We got him out, and he's recuperating. Anyway, we've met up with Ryan, and he's become a member of Team Rocket. He pushed Jim off the ship. Then he ran off."  
  
"Thank you again, Rob. I guess I'll see you later." He hung up.  
  
Rob came back over to us. I had been thinking about what happened to Jess. Then I remembered what Ryan said before he pushed me off.  
  
"My only friends, one abandoned me and one came back..." Who came back? 


	6. Mirror, Mirror

Chapter VI  
  
Mirror, Mirror  
  
I awoke from a really weird dream about some psycho who took Pokemon and copied their genes. I had gone to stop him, but he tricked me and tied me up. He was about to inject DNA from a Charizard into me when I woke up.  
  
"Hey, you're up!" said Bryan. "Great. I think you're well enough for us to go off to Lavender. I'll escort you there, so you don't get ambushed by Team Rocket. They seem to have a grudge against you... But anyway, let's go."  
  
Suddenly, Philip burst through the door. "I did it!" We all got up. "What do you mean?" asked Jack. "Bryan, remember that Snorlax that was blocking the way to Diglett's cave?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"Well, I caught it!"  
  
"How? You don't have any Pokemon!"  
  
"Well... I rigged a Pokeball to catch Pokemon almost immediately, so, I just threw a rock at it, and it woke up. Another rock took its health far enough down for me to catch it!"  
  
Rob spoke up. He was a quiet guy. "How'd you rig the ball?"  
  
"Well, I used my last paycheck from my uncle, and my first paycheck from here in Vermilion. I bought some metal and wiring, and I built the Philipball!"  
  
He saw our faces. "What? Did you want me to call it the Megaball or somethin'?" I laughed. "Actually..." I said.  
  
"Shut up!" He threw one of the pillows on the bench at me. "Well, I also used the money you slipped me before you left a while back, and I made these!" He held up four belts. Each one had compartments for Pokeballs, items, a Pokegear, and money!  
  
"Sweet!" I said. "Thanks, Phil."  
  
"It was nothin'. I designed these a long time ago, and I built one for me already."  
  
Bryan took his. "Wow. These have everything. All they don't have is a place for my handcuffs," he said, looking at it. "Actually, this one is yours, and it does."  
  
* * *  
  
We headed out after looking at The Blob (Snorlax). It was young, but it was strong. It had a higher Attack rating than Goldark had, and the fish was enhanced for strength!  
  
Bryan led us out to Route 11. It was very grassy. I didn't see anything interesting, so I didn't catch anything.  
  
We went all the way through the route to 12. Route 12 was a long harbor surrounded by water. It was a popular fishing area. Today, though, there were no fishermen. "Where is everybody?" I asked.  
  
As if on cue, a guy in a white robe leaped out of the water on a Dratini.  
  
He had bleached hair, like...  
  
Ty!  
  
"Yo, Ty, que tal?" (Que tal means what's up in Spanish). He grunted. "Who is this Ty?"  
  
Huh?  
  
"You are...aren't you?"  
  
"My name is Chamuga, the Chinese Pokemon Bandit!"  
  
Chamuga the Chinese Pokemon bandit?  
  
"Are you kidding?" I asked. "We just saw you in Saffron, leading the Dojo. Is this a joke?"  
  
But Bryan stepped forward. "I've heard of you. You steal people's Pokemon, but you then act really strange and run off, rambling on about 'mirrors'."  
  
The Dratini moved toward us. We all sent out Pokemon. Oddish, Starmie, Snorlax, and two others. Bryan had a Croconaw, which was evolved from Totodile. Jack sent out an evolved Fastforwurd. Must be...Power! That's what he called it!  
  
"Dratini, Wrap the Oddish!" Dratini leapt at Oddish. "Stun Spore!" I commanded. Oddish sent out a bluish powder, and Dratini inhaled it. Paralyzed! "Now, Wrap it, Power!" Power threw its cord at it, and it wrapped around the Dragon-type. It then stuck the plug into Dratini, zapping it. "TINI!" it yelled.  
  
It fell, fried. "Augh!" said Chamuga. He pulled out a rope. He laughed evilly as he threw it at us. It wrapped around the five of us. "Now, I've gotcha! Hand over your Pokemon!"  
  
Bryan laughed. "That's what you think." He curled his hands into fists. Suddenly, he started yelling like a madman. "Aaaaauuuugh!"  
  
His hair suddenly looked slightly blonder, and longer. His eyes had taken on an almost evil look. "Whoa!" I said, amazed by this crazy transformation.  
  
"What happened?" asked the thief. "I am Gobryan!" He looked like a madman.  
  
Bryan pulled out a sword. Jack, Rob, Philip, and me all said "Where'd that sword come from?" at the same time. He cut the rope. We were free!  
  
Chamuga pulled out a whip, made of solid Miltank hide. He whipped it at Blondy, and it wrapped around the sword. Chamuga pulled tighter on the whip, almost yanking it out of Bryan's hands. But Bryan, always ready, jerked his sword up into the leather, cutting it up.  
  
"No!"  
  
Bryan whacked Chamuga with the flat of his silver blade, the metal glinting in the sun. The thief fell, and Bryan leaned over him. He looked like he was about to chop Chamuga in half. Suddenly, a strange look came over Chamuga's face. When he spoke, the voice sounded different, more like Ty's...  
  
"Help!" he squeaked. "Who are you? How did I get here?" He was no longer Chamuga. He was once again Ty.  
  
"Ty, what happened?" I asked.  
  
He got up. He walked with us.  
  
Bryan looked normal again. No evil eyes, no sword, no blond hair.  
  
I was weirded out.  
  
"So, Ty, what has been goin' on with ya?" asked Jack.  
  
Ty began to explain.  
  
"I guess it all started about a month ago.  
  
"One day, before I was the Karate King, I was training with the little White Belt Youngsters. Suddenly, I felt all dizzy. I thought I fell to the ground.  
  
"Next thing I knew, I was standing over two of the little kids, their Pokeballs in my hands.  
  
"Kiyo and I talked about what happened. He told me that I had a Mirror Spirit inside me. Or, at least, that's what the ancient Chinese called it. It reveals your dark side, or, if you're evil, your good side. It brings out your mirror self.  
  
"My evil side, apparently, is a Pokemon bandit. I've tried everything. Chinese Chi spells, potions, and nothing has worked."  
  
"Jim, didn't we get a Cleanse Tag back from the old crazy lady south of Cerulean?" asked Rob.  
  
"Yeah." I pulled out a strange-looking piece of paper from my Pokebelt. "Hold this."  
  
He took it. Five seconds later, a dark cloud formed over his head. Slowly, it took the form of a Gastly!  
  
"Mirror Spirits are actually Gastly, possessing people!" I yelled. Gastly began to laugh. "Hahaha! G-g-g-gastly!"  
  
It flew at Rob, but Bryan leapt in front of it. The sword was back. Where'd that sword keep comin' from? He was Gobryan again. Where did the "Go" come from, anyway?  
  
He hit the spirit with his sword, but it passed right through it. "Physical Pokemon attacks won't work, and neither will our attacks!" I yelled over a howling wind that had picked up.  
  
Bryan started yelling like he was crazy again, but this time, he was chanting something. "Kamehameha!" A strange energy ball formed in his hands. He thrust his hands forward, throwing the ball at the Gastly.  
  
Gastly flew back, hit pretty hard. What just happened here? Bryan threw a ball of light at the ghost.  
  
I was now totally weirded out, more than before.  
  
Out of nowhere, a black-and-gray ball came and hit Gastly. It hit the gaseous body and bounced off, then opened and captured the Gas Pokemon.  
  
"Philip, did you just catch my Mirror Spirit?" asked Ty.  
  
"Yeah. Pretty sweet, huh?" The wind had died down.  
  
Bryan's normality had retuned again.  
  
* * *  
  
We continued on to Lavender City, once Lavender Town until Pink established a Gym. Bryan left us with one of the Officer Jennies. In the Police station, Rob, Jack, Phil, Ty, and me sat opposite a girl in a green dress. Her bushy brown hair was down to her shoulders. The dress was torn in a lot of places. She looked like a runaway. She looked a little lonely, so I walked over to her. "Can I sit here?"  
  
She nodded. I sat on the bench next to her. I held out my hand. "I'm Jim. Who are you?" She looked at my hand, then said, "May." I pulled my hand back, since she obviously didn't shake hands with anybody else. "That's a nice name. Where're you from?" She didn't answer. "I'm from White. Do you live here in Lavender?"  
  
She looked at me fiercely. "What are you, some kind of interrogation from the cops?" That ended our conversation.  
  
I got up and walked back over to the guys. Jack was laughing behind his hand, and tried to cover it up with a cough, but it didn't work. "Shut up," I told him. "Man, some people just don't like to socialize." She was pretty, but she wasn't one to talk a lot.  
  
This was classified as one of my more surreal adventures. 


	7. April, May, June...

Chapter VII  
  
April, May, June...  
  
Officer Jenny got us each a room in the new hotel. For some reason, May got a room down the hall. I settled in for the night. I slowly drifted to sleep on my bed, thinking about Jess...  
  
KNOCK, KNOCK. Someone was knocking on my door. I got up. It was morning. They kept knocking. "I'm comin', I'm comin'," I said groggily. I opened the door. May was standing there, in another green dress, this one untorn.  
  
"Uh, hi. Can we talk? I was a little rude yesterday," she said. I stepped out into the hallway. "Sure."  
  
"I guess you're still wondering where I'm from. I live, or lived, in Celadon..."  
  
"I worked at the Gym. My Pokemon weren't exactly strong. My sister Amy and I worked together, but her Pokemon always beat mine. I had an Oddish, a Bellsprout, and a Paras. They were all at levels in the upper 20s.  
  
"One day, we had a tournament to see who could stay at the Gym. Each of the girls had to beat Erika's weakest Pokemon, a Weepinbell. She never even used it against opposing Trainers.  
  
"Well, the other girls beat it, but when it came to me..."  
  
Her voice broke. I put my arm on her shoulder. "I'm sorry." She continued. "They kicked me out. Most were happy about it. Amy told me not to leave, but instead of going home, I ran away.  
  
"I ran for a while, until I collapsed in the middle of route 7, east of Celadon. When I woke up, I was surrounded by four Bikers, the Kanto Pokemon Federation. They rode around me for a few minutes, laughing.  
  
"Then they attacked me. One had a Weezing, and it knocked me out again. I came to, I was in the building that used to be the underground passage that led under Saffron to Lavender. It had been closed down, but the Federation must've broken into it.  
  
"They were about to take my Pokemon since I didn't want to join, until I realized what I could do. I could join them, and protest against the rudeness of the Gym Leaders. I could maybe even take over the Gym and overthrow Erika!  
  
"I was crazy. I think it had something to do with that bully, Harris', Weezing. The fumes must have done something to me. Whatever the reason, I tried to break into the Gym late at night. Erika was at her little home, asleep. We first used the key that the girls forgot to take from me. We got in the front door.  
  
"I took the Gym Leader's box. I stood up there, until someone saw the lights on and called the cops. We were busted. The five of us ran out the door until we got to the underground hideout. We ran through. We reached the other side to find a barred door. Gloom took care of that.  
  
"While training for this breakin, I had pumped up my Pokemon. Oddish had evolved into Gloom, Bellsprout into Weepinbell, and Paras into Parasight.  
  
"Anyway, we ran and hid in the Cemetary, claiming sanctuary. We were safe, for the time being. About a week later, we ran out of provisions, so I was forced to go and buy some more. Someone had a warrant for us, and I was caught and brought to the station."  
  
That was an amazing story. "So, do you know where your friends are now?" I asked. "No, but I think they're still in the cemetary. I bet they're eating each other." Somehow I doubted she was joking.  
  
"Do you think you should turn them in if you can?" I asked. "Well, yeah. I think I was under the influence of that idiot's Weezing, so I don't think they'll press charges, do you?" I had to think about that. I wasn't sure I could trust this girl. On the other hand, she did just pour out her crimes on my lap, so she apparently thought she could trust me.  
  
"No, I don't. If they ask me to testify or something, I'll tell them what you just told me."  
  
* * *  
  
The Pokemon Graveyard. Not a place I want to be in again. It was spooky. I kept thinking some Ghost Pokemon would fly out and grab me or something. Phil, Ty, Rob and Jack apparently thought so, too.  
  
May led us to the center of that place. "Guys, it's me, Weedwhacker! Guys?" she yelled. "We're here. Are you alone?" a voice called in the morning fog. "No. I...have, uh, some friends. They're not gonna betray us." Then, I heard her mutter, "I will." This girl was crazy!  
  
Four guys stepped out of the shadows. One had flaming red hair. The others had long black hair, one in a ponytail. "So, you guys wanna join the KPF?" asked the ponytailed guy. "Um, yeah," I said, trying to sound as tough as I could.  
  
"So, Weedwhacker, ya think these four can make it?" They apparntly called May "Weedwhacker". "This one looks kinda scrawny," he said, pointing to me.  
  
It was true. I was scrawny. But did that matter? May read my mind, or so it seemed. "Does that matter? He can battle, hard." She had never seen me battle, so she was bluffing. I could take these losers on.  
  
"Think you's guys can take us guys on?" asked the bigger guy with black hair. He wasn't the smartest of the pack. I had a feeling that was May, which is saying something.  
  
"Yeah, I bet we could," said Jack. "Stay back, dude,'' said Rob. He was pretty smart, keepin' him back. Jack would probably go in punching, and get himself killed.  
  
"So, you wanna try?" asked Harris, apparently the ponytail. "Weezing!" said a voice. I knew where the "fog" was coming from. It was actually Weezing's Smog. "Guys, I'd hold my breath."  
  
"Why?" asked Jack. "Because that Weezing's gonna turn us into psycho nutcases like our friend Weedwhacker here!" said Rob. That pretty much said it all.  
  
"Guys, let's not fight. You need food, don't you?" asked May. Good. I didn't want this to turn into a battle.  
  
"Yeah..." grunted Carrot-Top. "Well, these guys can get you some provisions." said May. We'd already worked this out. "Come on. We'll show ya," said Jack. The four Bikers followed the six of us.  
  
We headed out of the cemetary. The gravestones still spooked me. Jack led the way towards the Police Station, but the members of the Federation were too high on Weezing fumes to realize it.  
  
"Come on in. We've got a buffet waiting for you," said an officer at the door. As soon as we got in...  
  
"Freeze!"  
  
The four stopped. "You're under arrest for breaking and entering the Celadon Gym. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law."  
  
Officer Jenny led the four handcuffed Bikers to their cells. "Thank you, May. For helping us, all charges have been dropped."  
  
* * *  
  
May decided to come along with us to Johto. She finally got cheerful, actually smiled, and said she'd have to skip the visit to the Celadon Gym. We laughed and headed off to the west exit of Lavender.  
  
I decided to skip Pink, since she didn't have a badge to give away. I didn't think I needed more training before I took on Erika.  
  
* * *  
  
The six friends walked out of the city. I watched them. The one Ryan had called Jim and his friends. Why did Jim look so familiar?  
  
Why had my father placed me on this assignment? It was my first true assignment for Team Rocket, but it was the most important for Team Rocket. Jim had already captured Goldark and Darkning. Would he defeat Cacti?  
  
Dad sure thought he wouldn't. I wasn't sure. I had been following him, from the time Dad sent me out. Why couldn't I remember anything before that morning when he assigned me to Project Darkness?  
  
Why couldn't I remember my name? My father was Giovanni, but he hadn't thought it important to give me a name? Why not? And why was I assigned with that idiot Ryan? He was such a loser.  
  
And yet... he was somehow, familiar. Like Jim, only Jim seemed to know me, too.  
  
I looked at myself in the window of the hotel whose alley I was standing in. Blond hair, brown eyes, black jupsuit, red R.  
  
Who was I? 


	8. Rocket Power

Chapter VIII  
  
Rocket Power  
  
I looked at my survellience screen. There he was: Jim.  
  
That brat! He was looking for information on Team Rocket, and apparently training to take us on.  
  
It had all started when I retired from Team Rocket. I heard something on the radio. It was a message from my men! "Giovanni, we need you. We have taken over the radio tower in Goldenrod. Return to us. We are falling apart without your leadership. Many high-ranking Executives are fighting over position of leader. Return to us, Giovanni! We need you!"  
  
The message was replayed on every channel over and over. It was time to reclaim my position in Team Rocket!  
  
* * *  
  
"All right men, here's the plan I've been developing."  
  
I had returned to Team Rocket one week later, after Gold had kicked us out of Goldenrod.  
  
I had been developing a plan to take over both Kanto and Johto.  
  
We would capture Goldenrod, the main city in Johto. But how to do that? First, we would capture a Houndour. They were the most common Dark- type Pokemon.  
  
Next, we would capture a Goldeen, Oddish, and Voltorb. We would use the new cloning technology to build genetically-enhanced war machines. First, I would splice Dark DNA from the Houndour and DNA from my Persian into a single body, for a Dark-type Persian.  
  
We spent a while building up the body. My scientists assured me it would only take two weeks.  
  
After two weeks, I came through the door to the lab. "How is my Pokemon?"  
  
The scientist looked a bit afraid as he began to speak.  
  
"Sir, the new Pokemon has not accepted the DNA. The Persian has changed back to Normal. The evolved body could not handle DNA that it had not been born with. We may have to breed a new Pokemon, and be sure that it obtains Dark DNA..."  
  
"My Persian has reverted to Normal?"  
  
"Y-yes, sir..."  
  
"Why was I not informed?"  
  
"It happened overnight last night..."  
  
I stormed out of the lab, outraged. How could they be so stupid? Reverted to Normal, bah! Probably totally failed the experiment!  
  
Then, my top security officer walked up to me. He was head of making sure no one came into the headquarters beneath the Celadon game corner. Red had not made sure we had totally left after beating me and forcing me to quit Team Rocket.  
  
"Yes, Agent Roberts?" He handed me his daily security report.  
  
"The switch behind the poster has been destroyed, blocking all entrance other than the door in the Underground. The Underground itself has been closed, due to 'fights'. We convinced the Police we were concerned about the Kanto Pokemon Federation."  
  
"Good. I trust the Federation has taken over the Underground?"  
  
"Yes. Their leader is a trusted spy, making sure no one gets in."  
  
"Thank you, Roberts, that will be all."  
  
I cotinued to my office, Roberts taking a route to his security room.  
  
* * *  
  
Several weeks later, we had a baby Meowth with Dark characteristics. We trained it. It soon was ready to evolve into my specially-bred war machine. Kanto was mine!  
  
Soon we had a strong Persian. It beat everything we threw at it, including its mother, my Persian.  
  
The fight was extremely short. The son used a Thief, inherited from its father. That was all it took. The mother was down.  
  
* * *  
  
Next, we bred the three Pokemon we had caught. Oddish turned darker, and grew spikes, like a cactus. We called it Cacti.  
  
Goldeen's lacy fins turned to normal fish-like fins. It grew a horn and lost its white colorings. It was all gold. We called that one Goldark.  
  
Voltorb turned half black, half gray, and its color separation went diagonal instead of horizontal. Darkning was its new name ("light"ning).  
  
We trained these, too, but not as hard. They were a little weaker, but not as much.  
  
We also studied Dark-types well, so we could master them. We found out that a new moon powered up Darks, because there was no natural light to hinder their true energy. Their only weakness at that time would be a Sunny Day attack, to bring new light.  
  
Next came the tests. Each one had to be tested properly. How? That's what I had to figure out.  
  
* * *  
  
We could test after we took over Goldenrod. One day in mid-July, we headed out. We arrived in Goldenrod. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, so no one was out. That was good. No one to stop us this time.  
  
I walked in to the Gym. Whitney was there, with some other Trainers. The only guy there ran off as soon as I sent out my Dark Persian. The girls all screamed. One fainted. That was all there was to it.  
  
My men all stormed the place, but the girls all ran off. All but Whitney. We captured her. Had to get rid of all the Gym Leaders before I could take over. They would provide a resistance.  
  
Then, we proceeded to all the other buildings, only having to take three prisoners. Everyone else ran to Ecruteak. Goldenrod was ours!  
  
* * *  
  
It was about a week later when I heard about Jim. Roberts came up to me and told me that a kid from White was asking around about us.  
  
"His Pokemon could get stronger...We need to find some way of nipping him in the bud!"  
  
* * *  
  
The next day, I found a way. Spies in White confirmed his closest friends. Agent Roberts' son, Ryan, and a girlfriend, Jessica.  
  
"I've got a way to stop Jim!" I told my men. "We can kidnap the girl and brainwash her! Then, she can do the testing for us. Ryan will probably join us willingly, because he feels betrayed by Jim. He would love to get to go against his 'friend' "  
  
* * *  
  
It didn't take much to capture Jessica. We came in through her window, grabbed her, and went back out the window.  
  
Ryan did come willingly, wanting to get back at Jim. He thought Jessica had run away, until we told him what we did to her.  
  
We put her in a room all by herself. We played a recording over and over to brainwash her:  
  
"You are the daughter of Giovanni. You are a member of Team Rocket. You have no name. You no longer know anyone in White City. You have never met Jim or Ryan. Your hair was not dyed blond, but it has always been blond."  
  
We dyed her brown hair blond so Jim wouldn't recognize her as well. But she still seemed suspicious. We told her that this would be her first mission in Team Rocket: to go and test Cacti, Goldark and Darkning.  
  
She left, and we thought she could do it on her own.  
  
Then I called her to ask her to report. It wasn't good. Jim had captured Goldark, and he had forced her to talk. She didn't tell me that.  
  
She lied, telling me Jim was a potential new recruit. She didn't tell me he caught Goldark, but I figured that easily.  
  
We tried to send out Cory, another young agent, to help her. My "daughter" and Cory had really bonded during training, but Cory had tried to betray us to the police, and we were forced to wipe her memory and kick her out.  
  
So we had to send Ryan. He met her in Vermilion, and he realized who she was. He was able to get a good look at her, unlike Jim.  
  
Ryan helped her to take out guards onboard the S.S. Aqua. They started scaring people offboard, with the help of Darkning. Project Thunderstorm to take out the only other route to Johto would have succeeded, if that pest and his gang hadn't stopped them.  
  
Jim showed up with the new police chief, too, who also gave us a problem. We had released a Gastly with Mirror Spirit abilities to find some one who would interact with Jim, and who would stop him on the road to Johto. But Bryan stopped the spirit. He had special powers, which we had known, but we didn't factor them into our plans.  
  
He stopped the spirit, and one of their annoying friends captured it. It was only a matter of time before the Gastly reemerged, stopping Jim.  
  
Anyway, Ryan pushed Jim over into the water, but the kid with the special Pokeballs captured Darkning.  
  
Ryan and Jessica were forced to retreat. After that, we lost contact with them for a while, until Ryan reestablished comm-link, only to tell us that Jessica had run away. We found her on my surveillance cameras, which are everywhere.  
  
Jim had found her, and we needed to stop him from getting to her.  
  
* * *  
  
There was a shadow, once again, on her face, so all I could see was her blond hair, and the tears flowing down.  
  
"I...don't...know..."  
  
Suddenly, Ryan jumped from the roof of the building between us. "Stay away from her!"  
  
"Why should I, you turncoat?" I yelled. She stepped in front of him, stopping me from leaping at him and tearing him to pieces...  
  
A shaft of light fell on her face. I saw who she truly was...  
  
Jessica! 


	9. Shadows of Evil

Chapter IX  
  
Shadows of Evil  
  
Even with blond hair, I couldn't mistake that face. The same face I had seen in my dreams. Then, I realized that in the dreams, she had had blond hair.  
  
I almost laughed, but that wasn't right at the time.  
  
"You are Jessica!" I said. "Who?" She was confused.  
  
Brainwashing!  
  
She didn't remember me. "What has Giovanni done to you?" I asked. "My father?"  
  
Her father?  
  
It suddenly made sense to me. He kidnapped her as soon as he found out about my meddling. But when it didn't throw me off, he used her as a pawn.  
  
I pulled out a photo I kept all the time, and held it up to her.  
  
"This is me, and you, and you!" she said, pointing at me and Ryan. "Yes." I said.  
  
The picture was of me with my arm around Jess, and Ryan sitting next to me at the Goldenrod Train Station, before we took a trip to Seafoam Islands. Jess's dad had taken the picture.  
  
"I...remember..." said Jess. "We were going...somewhere, but Ryan got sick. You insisted we wait until he got better to go to...the beach! That was it! The Islands!"  
  
"Yes!" I cheered.  
  
"But...I haven't known you, have I?" she said. "And we weren't all...friends...were we? I'm so confused!!!"  
  
She turned and ran into the street. A car came at her, but screeched to a halt as it came at her. She screamed, and kept running.  
  
"Jess, come back!"  
  
I ran after her. Ryan had disappeared into the shadows. It started to rain.  
  
I forgot how fast and athletic that girl was!  
  
But I was fast, too.  
  
Too fast.  
  
I ran into her. We fell, and she then got up and began to run again, but we had gotten run into a dead-end.  
  
"Jessica, stop." I got up and walked to her. She huddled down in the corner, crying. "Is that my name? Or are you lying to me, too?"  
  
"No! I wouldn't lie to you. You're my closest friend in the world. Jess, I care about you. I wouldn't hurt you. Giovanni has messed with your mind, caused you to think differently than what is real."  
  
She looked up. "Jim?"  
  
"Yes! Do you remember?"  
  
"I remember...a football game. White Wigglytuff against the Goldenrod Golbat. We won, but I didn't see half the game. Paul...Hope...Megan...Emma...they were all there, the game was packed. Most of us didn't watch the game. We were behind the bleachers in the field, talking, messing around. Paul came up to me...and the rest is history."  
  
* * *  
  
It looked like Jess was back. We went back to the hotel, and we tried to help her get her memory back totally.  
  
Jack, Rob, Ty, Phil, and May had all stayed out of the way so we could get reacquainted. Ryan was still missing. I decided to introduce Jess to them.  
  
"This is Jack. He's Lt. Surge's nephew. He also helped me against Brock in Pewter, but you may have known that." She nodded. "Rob here is the leader of the Cerulean Gym. Ty is the new Karate King of Saffron. Philip, well, you know him."  
  
She shook her head. "You look familiar, but I can't place your face. It's foggy," she said. "I'm your cousin...remember?" said Philip. "Yeah, now I remember." Jessica hadn't fully retained all her memories about her family.  
  
"Anyway, this is May. She worked at the Celadon Gym, and ran away. Then she joined the Kanto Pokemon Federation, but decided to turn them in, and joined us," I said.  
  
Jessica held her hand out to May. "Hi. I'm Jessica, Jim's girlfriend." May's eyes widened, then went into a look that said, "If looks could kill, and I wish they could..."  
  
I realized what Jess was thinking. "No! It's not like that, Jess! We just met. She wasn't moving in on me or anything!" I hadn't realized that Jessica was the jealous type.  
  
"Okay. Just makin' sure." Team Rocket had done something to that girl. She was almost a different person.  
  
* * *  
  
We decided to go on to Celadon. We headed east. There was no sign of Ryan. Good thing, too. He could've messed up Jessica's mind again.  
  
That idiot! Why had he joined the enemy? He thought I was a backstabber?!?  
  
I was jolted back into reality when Jess asked me what I had said about May. "The Federation, right? They were spies for Team Rocket! At least the leader was. And they're in jail? That's great! They were guarding the entrance to my fath-- Giovanni's base under the Game Corner!"  
  
"The Game Corner? I thought they were kicked out?"  
  
"No, they got back in after the Radio Tower incident! They destroyed the switch, and now the only way in is the underground!"  
  
"I'd better not try to get in now, I still need to train!"  
  
We continued, until we came to the building housing the underground. A redheaded figure jumped off the roof in our path!  
  
Harris!  
  
"May, remember me?"  
  
I stepped in front of her. "Stay away, Harris."  
  
"Is that Giovanni's daughter? What the...?"  
  
Jess jumped behind May. "What do ya want, Red?"  
  
"Red? Did you just call me Red? You piece of..."  
  
He attacked me. Rob, Philip, and Jack all jumped in, too. We were all rolling around, punching, kicking and having a wonderful time.  
  
May pulled Harris out and socked him. He fell, unconscious. "He didn't deserve death. I let him live, for now."  
  
This girl was a psycho!  
  
We continued on to the Saffron east gate. We headed through, and Ty and the rest of us had to split our separate ways. We continued off to the west gate, while he headed north to the Dojo. We said our good-byes, then left.  
  
On the other side stood the other end of the underground. The route was pretty short. On the other side was Celadon City.  
  
Everyone split up. May went to her house to tell Amy she was all right. Jess headed to the Game Corner to see if there was any sign of Team Rocket's base entrance. Philip and I went to the Department Store to stock up on supplies. Rob and Jack went to check out the Gym.  
  
* * *  
  
Later, Philip and I realized we couldn't afford any Pokeballs. I headed to the Game Corner to see if I could borrow some of Jessica's money.  
  
May had gone there after talking to Amy. She had begun to play on the Slot Machines. "So, how you doing?"  
  
"Not too hot. I'm losing my money, and Jessica is playing the Card Flips, and winning."  
  
I went to see Jess. "May says you're on a winning streak."  
  
"Not anymore. I just lost half my money. Blast it!"  
  
"Come on, I need to borrow some cash for Pokeballs."  
  
"No, I can't leave!"  
  
I looked at the machine. Something was wrong.  
  
Suddenly, I felt dizzy. I walked over to the next machine and sat down. The game looked pretty easy...  
  
I inserted some coins and began to play.  
  
* * *  
  
"Sir, the Houndour has escaped!"  
  
The yell ran clear in my mind. After Jim had brought Jessica's memory back, our security had slipped a little, and Houndour escaped.  
  
We had genetically altered it, also. Whenever it howled at the moon, its howl would become a radio signal to my satellites orbiting the moon.  
  
The satellites would send a wave of energy to the satellites orbiting Earth, and that energy would block out the moon's light. The darker the moon was, the more powerful Dark Pokemon became. When the moon's light was fully blocked, we would attack.  
  
Our army of Dark Pokemon would sweep the nation, terrorizing the citizens of Johto. We would then move to White City and Kanto. Jim was the only thing stopping us.  
  
But the Houndour escaped. We no longer had access to my satellites. The plan was failing.  
  
"Well, you imbecile, get it back!"  
  
"All right, Team Shadow, move out to block exits at the underground tunnel under Saffron. Team New Moon, go to the routes around it and make sure it doesn't get past there!" said Agent Roberts.  
  
* * *  
  
"Jim, wake up!"  
  
A slap across the face brought me out of my trance. "Dude, you've used most of our money!" yelled Rob.  
  
"Huh? Where am I...? Oh, Celadon. What did I do?"  
  
"Look, you've lost every game!"  
  
I looked at my screen. There were only a few chances left. I had lost every time. My money bag was very light.  
  
"Oh, man! I went into some sort of a trance, and couldn't stop playing! I used all our money."  
  
"So did I," said Jess. I looked at my machine. I started feeling dizzy again. I tore my eyes away.  
  
"It's the machine. It hypnotizes people into playing, then they lose. This place is still secretly run by the Rockets, remember?" said Philip. He was an expert on technology.  
  
I was about to go tell the manager about this, when Jack burst in the door.  
  
"There's a Houndour out there, attacking people at the hotel!" We all ran outside.  
  
There, in the middle of the street, a Houndour was blowing fire at the huge Celadon Suites hotel.  
  
"Go, Bubbly!" "Go, Feraligatr!" "Go, Power!" "Go, Growlithe!"  
  
Growlithe?  
  
Apparently, Jessica had acquired her favorite Pokemon from Giovanni. One thing she had remembered there.  
  
We all attacked. Then, right when it was almost gone, Jess cried out.  
  
"That's Giovanni's Houndour!"  
  
I threw a Philip Ball at the thing right when she yelled that.  
  
* * *  
  
"But, how did I capture it if it belonged to the Rockets?" We were all at the restaurant, where there was an eating contest going on. Philip had joined in.  
  
"Let me see that ball," said Jack. He took it and opened it up, letting out the Houndour. "No, boy, stay," said Jessica. "Remember me? I was Giovanni's daughter."  
  
It sat. "Aha! This Pokeball can capture already caught Pokemon!" exclaimed Jack. "How?" asked Rob.  
  
"I'm not sure, but Phil must've done something to the identity mechanism that prevents stuff like that."  
  
Philip almost choked on some pizza. "I bib bwhat? (Gulp) how did I do that?"  
  
"You must've hit this laser scanning device when you put this little doohickey on top of that thingamabob," said Jack, examining the inside of the Philipball.  
  
"Oh. Well, I didn't know that."  
  
"Now you do. I suggest you stop making those," I said.  
  
"Wait a minute. Does that mean..."  
  
"Snorlax and Gastly may belong to someone else," said Rob. Jessica jumped in.  
  
"Gastly did. It was also Giovanni's, but he sent it out to make trouble for you."  
  
"The Mirror Spirit? Giovanni unleashed it?" I asked.  
  
"Uh-huh. So those custom Pokeballs are how you got Darkning, but I don't know about Goldark."  
  
"Darkning and Goldark, huh?" I said. She looked a little embarrassed. "Yeah, well..." she said quietly.  
  
"Oh, man! That's it! The Pokeballs I sold you at the Mt. Moon square Pokemart had been some of my first prototypes! My uncle must've accidentally put them on the shelves!" Philip had given me one of his Philipballs?  
  
I laughed. "Well, that solves that."  
  
* * *  
  
Later, we were looking at the Houndour, which I had nicknamed Shadow, when Philip ran up to us. "Guys, the last of my Philipballs were stolen!"  
  
This had Team Rocket written all over it. 


	10. Fire and Ice

Chapter X  
  
Fire and Ice  
  
"It's not in here!"  
  
We had checked Snorlax's OT number, then accessed the trainer Database online. The number wasn't registered with any Trainers who had one of Bill's inventories. And the number didn't match Philip's!  
  
We gave up. Maybe...nah. Couldn't be. Why would he...never mind.  
  
"You know, I'd bet my genetically altered Pokemon that Ryan stole your Philipballs," said Jess.  
  
"You have more?" I asked. She pulled out a ball with a red R on it. Inside was an oddish, but its leaves looked more like the branches on a cactus.  
  
"Meet Cacti, the Dark part of Oddish."  
  
I picked it up, carefully avoiding the spikes. "I think the Prof needs to see this. He's also got Darkning and Goldark."  
  
I recalled it and returned to the computer. I accessed Oak's computer. May walked up behind me. "Can I meet the professor? I've never met him, but I've heard he's the greatest scientist on Pokemon."  
  
"Sure. Let me just dial up..."  
  
"Hello? Oh, Jim. How are your Pokemon?"  
  
"They're fine. Oh, this is May." He smiled at her. "Hello, May. Well, I've examined these Pokemon you've sent me, and I..." I interrupted him. "Prof, we've got another."  
  
I put Cacti's rocket Ball in the slot. "Here it is. Well, if I'm correct, these Pokemon seem to all have the same Dark genes, inherited by the same Pokemon, and almost forced to be active.  
  
"How did you get a hold of these Pokemon?"  
  
"Well, they used to belong to Team Rocket, but I kinda captured them. Actually, Jess knows more about them than I do."  
  
"Jessica?!? Where is she?"  
  
"She's right back there."  
  
I called her over. "Jess, remember Professor Oak?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well, look at you. You've gone blonde, huh? And why are you wearing that suit?"  
  
Jess was still wearing her Rocket jumpsuit.  
  
"It's a long story. Let's just say I was kidnapped by Team Rocket. I'll tell you all the rest when, or if, we get back to White."  
  
I realized what she meant by "if". And she was right. This was dangerous. after she was kidnapped, I was reckless, unfocused. Now that she was back, I finally got refocused and I saw the danger in my going up against Giovanni. I wasn't sure if I was still sane.  
  
We said goodbye to the prof and hung up. I sat down on a bench and thought about it.  
  
Was I nuts?  
  
After I had read everything about Team Rocket, I had really hated them, but then I thought they were gone. All the trouble they had given Red and Gold, evil experiments with Pokemon, takeover plots.  
  
But was I gonna be able to defeat them?  
  
I looked at my team. Jack, with his strong Electric Pokemon. May, with her crazy, I-hate-the-world attitude and Grass-types. Rob, with his Gym Leader-capable Water Pokemon. Philip, a beginning trainer with a brain for electronics. Jessica, who was just coming back to reality.  
  
I looked at my reflection in the mirror on the wall. My black EPA shirt, my messy brown hair, my strange assortment of Pokemon types:  
  
Puff, Moonstone, Greenbat, Oddish, Sparky, Bubbly, Shadow, Rocky, Cacti, Goldark, Darkning.  
  
Could my team defeat Giovanni and his twisted mind? His trained forces? My best friend gone nuts?  
  
There was only one way to find out: obtain all the Gym Badges, train all my Pokemon to a high level, and gain access to Johto to take on the Rockets in Goldenrod!  
  
But first I decided to get some donuts.  
  
* * *  
  
"Jim!" We were almost inside the Celadon Gym when Jessica tapped my shoulder. Night was falling over thecity.  
  
"Hey, um, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to test out Growlithe against Erika."  
  
"Okay. Wait, it's your only Pokemon, so I think you should also take my Eevee," I said. I handed her its Pokeball.  
  
Eevee hadn't had much training since I left, and I wanted a Dark- type, so I thought it would probably like her as much as I always had and evolve.  
  
We went inside the massive building. It was like a jungle in there! Giant plants were everywhere. A group of plants uprooted themselves and moved, surprising everyone but May, who led the way. "They're only Oddish."  
  
The air was heavy.It was humid and smelled really good, from the Grass-types' Sweet Scent.  
  
May led our group to the middle of the complex. The foliage broke to reveal a basic battle field, like in Brock's and Rob's Gyms.  
  
Many girls in green dresses and pastel-colored shirts watered plants and, almost surprisingly, Pokemon.  
  
A tree near the edge of the clearing wiggled when a girl watered it. "You!" she said. May whispered back to me, "This Sudowoodo keeps trying to sneak into the Gym, looking like a tree."  
  
"Hey, Megan!" called May. The girl turned towards us to look. "Well, if it isn't Miss..." She stopped when May gave her a death glare. I almost laughed. May wasn't gonna be pushed around any longer.  
  
"Heh heh... Hi, May. How's life?" said Megan.  
  
I realized something. "Hey, Jess. Does something about this seem familiar?"  
  
She nodded slowly. "I had a friend named Megan at EPA. She was short and had brown hair..."  
  
That was a good thing. She remembered EPA. Her memory was, hopefully, almost all the way back.  
  
"Anyway, I want to battle Erika," said Jess.  
  
The girl looked relieved to leave and get Erika. "Just step onto this platform."  
  
The platform rose as Jessica stepped onto it.  
  
"Erika, you have a challenger here," said Megan's voice over the loudspeaker.  
  
Erika rose up on the other platform. "I am Erika. So, you wish to battle? Fine, but I am not an easy win."  
  
She looked easy, though. Her black hair was straight and neat. She wore a pink dress with green sparkly things on the edges. She just looked a little, um, wimpy or something.  
  
Jess used Eevee first, apparently saving Growlithe. Erika used a Tangela. Eevee was faster, so it got in a good Take Down before Tangela could attack. One down. I pulled out my Pokedex. Erika had three Pokemon left. She used Jumpluff.  
  
Part Flying-type! Hmmm... What could stop a Flying-type? The ground!  
  
Jessica read my mind. Jumpluff flew up to come at Eevee, but at the last second... "Eevee, dodge it!"  
  
Jumpluff hit the ground so hard, it was buried in the dirt. "Come on, fly out, Jumpluff!" said Erika, but it was no use. The Grass-and- Flying combo was stuck too deep. "Eevee, Bite it!" eevee ran up to the soft puffs of, um, fluff on Jumpluff's head and bit down.  
  
But all it got was a mouthful of fuzz. It spit out the crud, spun around, and Tail Whipped the fuzzless stalk.  
  
Jumpluff fainted. Erika recalled it.  
  
Suddenly, Erika's platform exploded! Eevee realized what was about to happen and jumped at my girlfriend, knocking her off the platform. Seconds later, that platform, too, went up.  
  
"Erika?" called Megan as she loked down the hole where the platform used to be. I helped Jessica up and dusted her off. "You okay?" I asked her. "Uh huh. Your Eevee saved me."  
  
Eevee got a strange look on its face. Suddenly, it evolved! Its tail grew longer, and its fur turned black. The black pearly eyes turned red. Yellow rings appeared on its fur.  
  
Umbreon!  
  
"Come on!" I ran over to the hole. The platform itself had not exploded, but the ground around it. The platform had only fallen. It suddenly rose up again, but Erika was not on it.  
  
A dark figure stood on the wide plain. "Prepare for trouble."  
  
I sighed. "Ryan, what do you want?"  
  
"Hey, don't interrupt me!" Another figure rose up on Jess's platform. "Make it double."  
  
"Who are you?" I said. The figure pulled out a small device and pushed a button on it. "To protect the world from devastation." A sunroof on the ceiling opened, shining sunlight on him.  
  
Paul? It was Paul, the guy who got me and Jess together at the homecoming game. "Paul, what are you doing?" asked Jess.  
  
"I realize now what an idiot your boyfriend is," he said. "Hey! Why?" she yelled at him.  
  
"I always liked you, Jess. When Jim asked you out, it killed me. Now, I've teamed up with Ryan to stop him." Paul jumped off the platform in front of me. He pulled out a strange-looking Pokeball. It looked like...  
  
A Philipball! "How'd you get my Philipball? And why does it have an 'R' on it?" asked Philip. Paul threw the ball, but at Philip. It knocked him down.  
  
The ball rolled to my feet and opened. Out came a Poliwrath. It looked like it had been mistreated, whipped, poorly fed. I felt sorry for it when I realized Paul had done this to it. He had used to be nice. Had I really turned him and Ryan evil?  
  
The Poliwrath looked at Paul and Ryan, who both nodded.  
  
Then it held up its hand and...  
  
* * *  
  
"Jim!" I cried. Poliwrath had frozen his feet to the floor, then continued to encase his entire body in ice. "Paul, you loser!" I screamed and hurled myself at him.  
  
I began to pound his chest furiously with my fists. "Get -ow- her -oof- off me!" the freak said to Ryan. And I had liked him for a while, too. Like in my first year at EPA.  
  
Anyway, I socked him in the face. "Jessica, get off 'im! You'll kill him!" Ryan tried to pry me off Paul, but I punched him in the gut, sending him to the ground.  
  
"Get 'im, Jessica!" yelled Philip. At least someone was on my side. I lost my temper easily after Team Rocket's treatment of me.  
  
May decided not to let me kill him. She came up and pulled at my blond hair. "Ow!" I let Paul go. He crawled away, his nose bleeding. Loser.  
  
I sent out Growlithe. It jumped at Ryan, knocking him over. Then it used Fire Blast, melting the ice on Jim. He fell over, shivering.  
  
* * *  
  
Holy... That was cold. I felt like murdering Paul. As soon as I regained feeling in my legs.  
  
Shadow popped out of its ball. It began to blow Embers on my frozen body. I was warmed up quickly. I got up and recalled him.  
  
I sent out Umbreon. "Faint Attack!" It disappeared, then reappeared above Poliwrath. It landed on top of it, and Bit down on its arm. "Poliwrath, knock it off!"  
  
Poliwrath swung its arm up and caught Umbreon under the chin, knocking it out. Jess's Growlithe leaped up and Slammed into it. Poliwrath went flying. It landed on its feet and shot a jet of ice at the Puppy Pokemon. Growlithe's fire attacks burned right through the blast.  
  
I pulled out my Pokedex, which was frozen to my Pokebelt. Poliwrath only knew Ice attacks. That was good. Its only advantage against Growlithe was its resistance to Fire.  
  
"Fire Blast, full power!" called Jess, who was next to me. She handed me a blanket that May had found in a storage closet. Poliwrath fell to the ground, fried to a crisp.  
  
Mmm. Frog legs. Sorry, I was hungry.  
  
Paul backed away, then he and Ryan jumped down the hole. "We interrupted their little theme song," said Jack. I laughed.  
  
* * *  
  
Megan came up to me a little later, when we had finished cleaning up. "Jim, since, um, Erika was kidnapped, your battle against Team Rocket earned you this."  
  
She handed me a rainbow-colored flower Badge. The Rainbow Badge!  
  
I looked down the chasm that had taken Erika. I couldn't see anything. Nothing but shadows. Shadow!  
  
I sent him out. The little guy was loyal. "Come on, guys. Let's check it out.'' Philip said, "I've got to go take care of some stuff. You guys go ahead."  
  
The rest of them followed me and Shadow into the depths of the underground tunnel. 


	11. Into the Depths

Chapter XI  
  
Into the Depths  
  
We all jumped down into the gaping hole. I caught Jessica and May, and Jack and Rob jumped, but Rob landed on something soft. I looked at it in the light from above.  
  
It was a red dress, covered in dirt. I brushed the dust off. Jess, who was still wearing her black jumpsuit, took it and walked off into the shadows to try it on. She came back and said, "It's just my size."  
  
She looked beautiful. I thought I'd died and was seeing an angel.  
  
Shadow's flame lit the way through the tunnel. "It looks like it was dug recently," said Rob. "How can you tell?" asked May.  
  
"Well, I don't see any Pokemon that have wandered in and made it their home, so the diggers must have scared them off. Also, these tread marks are still fairly fresh, like from about a month ago. They could've used a drilling machine to dig it."  
  
"Wow," I said. "That long ago? They've had this planned."  
  
We continued through the darkness, following the tread marks, which probably led to Team Rocket.  
  
I saw a Rattatta once, but it wasn't big, so I didn't tell the girls. I wasn't sure if May was afraid of rats, but Jess was.  
  
What I didn't see was the large Ariados that dropped down behind us. I heard a clicking noise, and turned to see what it was. The Ariados' long legs clicked on the dirt.  
  
"Um, guys?"  
  
Jessica turned around first. She screamed a lung out. May turned around and just crossed her arms. Jack and Rob both pulled out Pokeballs, but I said, "No, wait."  
  
Shadow also turned to see what we were looking at. Its flame grew brighter. Ariados backed away. Even brighter. Farther still. The brighter Shadow's flash grew, the more scared the spider got. "The brightest you can, Shadow!" I called.  
  
Ariados jumped onto the ceiling and scampered away.  
  
Houndour howled in triumph. "No!" I yelled.  
  
The ground began to shake. Pebbles fell from the ceiling. The pebbles grew into rocks, then entire stalactites! I dived to protect Jess. Rob and Jack ducked, and then Rob grabbed May's hand and pulled her over to the rest of us. Shadow recalled itself.  
  
"Cave-in!" I yelled. Sparky let itself out and used a Reflect to keep the rocks off of us. We huddled close together, Fastforwurd in the middle of the ring.  
  
Suddenly, the shield gave out. I recalled worn-out Sparky and covered Jess. Rob covered May, and Jack huddled by himself.  
  
A huge rock hit my back and knocked the wind out of me. I fell over, leaving Jessica unprotected. I couldn't get up. A pointed stalactite fell towards her, and I wasn't able to save her.  
  
Everything seemed to slow down, as if someone had pushed the slow-mo button. The rock fell, and she turned. Jess screamed. "Jessica!!!" I yelled.  
  
It was over. The rock would land on her and crush her. She would be killed. The other rocks would crush the rest of us, and Team Rocket would never be stopped. They would take over the rest of Johto, then Kanto. The entire world.  
  
The pointed rock continued to fall, then Jess suddenly began to glow. A blue hue enveloped her body. The rock flew into the wall, sticking.  
  
"Jess?"  
  
She floated up into the air. A huge flash erupted, and…  
  
* * *  
  
I awoke in the cave. The others lay all around. The way in which we were headed was blocked by fallen rocks. I tried to get up, but my back was sore from the rocks.  
  
Slowly, the others woke up. I checked Sparky's stats, but he was still at full health, with full Power Points for Reflect. How in the…  
  
"Jess, are you okay?" I asked her as she sat up. "Why?" She looked confused. "What do you mean, am I okay? I was just sleepin'!"  
  
"Sleeping?" I asked. "But…but…the cave-in…"  
  
She looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was.  
  
"What the monkey happened to the tunnel?!?" Monkey was G-rated.  
  
May was ranting again. "Do you guys not remember?" I asked. "There was an Ariados, and Houndour scared it off. He howled, and the cave collapsed…"  
  
The others now thought I was crazy. "Okay, Jim. Last night, we walked until eleven. We decided to set up camp and sleep till this morning. You must've dreamed all this about a cave-in."  
  
Was I going nuts?!?  
  
* * *  
  
We were forced to turn around and head back to Celadon.  
  
There was a hotel, so we all got rooms; guys in one, girls in the other. Rob volunteered to sleep on the floor, so Jack was in one bed, I was in the other: that's the way we like it.  
  
Heh heh.  
  
That night, I had another strange dream. I saw the zoo in Fuchsia City. A small girl and her parents were near the new Ursaring exhibit.  
  
Her father held her up to get a better look at the bears. A small Teddiursa baby sat with its mother. The girl looked at the baby and laughed.  
  
The bear began to cry. The mother got mad, and reared up on its hind legs. It charged the wall of the pit. The force was so hard, the father stumbled, dropping the child.  
  
The girl landed on a rock, going unconscious on contact. The mother looked over at it, and lumbered over to have a look. The baby was motionless, so the bear apparently thought she was dead, or knew she was hurt.  
  
The Ursaring picked up the girl, handling it carefully, as it would hold its own young. It carried her over to its nest, which was off to a side. The baby Teddiursa followed on its short legs.  
  
After looking at her for a few minutes, the kid woke up, and started crying from pain, because it had landed kind of hard. I looked up and saw the parents, who were petrified with fear for their child.  
  
I wanted to help, but I was unable. The girls crying attracted other bears, who came over to see. The mother tried to fight them off, but was forced back.  
  
A large dominant male was in the group of Ursaring that had come to check out the baby. It thought of the crying as a call to others of its species, so it knew to defend its group of bears.  
  
It picked up the girl, but suddenly dropped it. It held its paw as if it had been burned. The girl began to glow blue, and I realized that this was Jessica at a younger age.  
  
She continued to glow, and started rising into the air. There was another flash similar to the one I saw in the tunnel, and I woke up.  
  
* * *  
  
"Good work, Paul."  
  
Our newest agent, Paul, had kidnapped Erika. We were going to ransom her to a Kanto prison to free our best agents.  
  
We had also gotten a new type of Pokeball, which we called the Thief Ball. Jessica still had a tracking device which we had implanted in her brain. We saw her looking at her cousin's Pokeballs, so we stole the last few.  
  
There had been some modifications, like a red R on the front, but they still captured already-owned Pokemon.  
  
We also saw them go down into our tunnel, so we let out an Ariados, which should have finished them off. It was defeated, but there was a cave- in, and we lost the signal to Jessica's brain. As far as we knew, they were dead.  
  
* * *  
  
"Okay, Greenbat, let's go!" It flew up into the air, May on its back. I waved, then turned to the others.  
  
"Well, we'll have to go one at a time, since Zubat is small."  
  
That was okay, though. We were headed to Saffron, but they had closed down Route 6, since they found a body lying there, supposedly attacked by a rabid Pokemon.  
  
Or a psycho nutcase, I thought, remembering our encounter with Harris.  
  
So we decided to fly there on Greenbat. We could only go one at a time, so May went first. Jessica would go next, then Rob, then jack, then me.  
  
As Greenbat returned fifteen minutes later, it sparkled in the sunlight. But, it was now a Golbat! Somehow, May had gotten it to evolve!  
  
Jack and Rob got on, since it could hold two riders now. Jess and I would go next, just the two of us.  
  
On to Saffron! 


	12. Betrayal of the Mind

Chapter XII  
  
Betrayal of the Mind  
  
We landed in the still-beautiful Saffron City. I immediately dashed to the Pokemon Center to heal my Pokemon.  
  
But in the doorway stood a familiar face. "Hello, Jacey," I said. "Jim, I hear you've found Jessica," she said, looking around me.  
  
"Jacey!"  
  
Jessica had spotted her, and ran up to the short blonde. Jacey came up to about the middle of my chest. She had always been pretty short. "Jess?" said another voice.  
  
Another short girl popped up from behind Jace. Megan.  
  
Not the one from the Celadon Gym. Jessica's friend from EPA.  
  
Megan was a couple inches taller than Jacey, with brown hair pulled back in a ponytail.  
  
"Megan! What are you two doing in Saffron?" asked Jessica.  
  
"Um…shopping! Yeah, shopping!" Megan said quickly.  
  
I had a weird feeling that something was not right here, but the feeling went away when I remembered why I was in Saffron.  
  
"Well, if you three wanna catch up, I'm goin' to the Gym to battle Sabrina." As I walked away, I turned my head for a sec and saw evil smiles on those two's faces.  
  
* * *  
  
May, Jack, and Rob met me at the Gym. I told them where Jess was and they followed me inside the building.  
  
Inside was a tiny room. Only a golden Abra statue adorned it. May walked to the other side of the room.  
  
"What is this? Is this the Gym?"  
  
But as she walked back to us, there was a flash of light, and she was gone. "May!" shouted Rob. He started to run to the spot where she had stepped, but I grabbed his arm.  
  
"Look, Rob." I kneeled down to the tiles. One was different than the ones around it. "A warp tile!" exclaimed Jack. I jumped on.  
  
I suddenly found myself in another room. Still empty, except for a note on the ground:  
  
"Here is your test. A, B, C, D, O. Come find me! --Sabrina"  
  
ABCDO?  
  
Jack and Rob appeared behind me. I handed them the note, which they read. I pulled out my Pokedex and opened a program I had never used before: the CheatKing program.  
  
It opened a map of the Gym. There were nine rooms, connected by warp tiles.  
  
CheatKing had been created to hack into other Pokedexes and computer files, showing what Pokemon your opponent had and what moves they knew. It also showed maps of caves and puzzle solutions.  
  
Small letters appeared next to the warp tile symbols on the screen…  
  
That was it!!!  
  
A, B, C, D, O was the way to go to reach Sabrina!  
  
Checking the CheatKing, I jumped onto warp tile B. Next room had nothing, not even Trainers.  
  
I hit C, D, then O. None of the rooms had Trainers. CheatKing's records told of a Trainer in every room. Hmm…  
  
Jack and Rob BAMFed in behind me again. Finally, Sabrina stood across the room on a stadium battle field.  
  
Jess was behind her, with Megan, Jacey, and…  
  
Ross?  
  
Why was he here? And in a Rocket jumpsuit?  
  
!!!  
  
Had Ryan gotten to him, too?  
  
Ross was Paul's best friend at EPA. So they had stuck together.  
  
Jack, Rob, and I ran to Sabrina. "Why are the girls and Ross here?"  
  
"Fools. Have you not figured my trap out? And you think that you can take on Master Giovanni!"  
  
She threw her head back and cackled.  
  
"Ma'am, I think I should explain to these idiots." Ross walked up to us and poked me hard in the chest. Why was everyone so short? Ross was only a little taller than Megan.  
  
"So ya think yer smart, huh? Well, figure it out."  
  
I thought for a moment, then said, "Actually, yes, we do think we're smart. Megan and Jacey are mind-induced mirages. Sabrina's mind-reading abilities found these images in our minds and created them.  
  
"For all we know, Ross is a mirage, too. But, Jessica fell for their trap and has been taken captive. Ross has been forced to join Team Rocket by brainwashing, as were Ryan and Paul.  
  
"Sabrina is a traitor to Kanto, perhaps brainwashed to stop me."  
  
Ross looked at me and laughed. "No, I'm not a mirage. No, we were not forced to join Giovanni. Our hatred of you has made us realize that the boss can bring you to your knees, by our hands." I doubted that they really joined of their own free will.  
  
"That made no sense. To his knees at your hands?" asked Rob. Oh boy, he was a dead Gym leader… Ross took a swing at him, but Rob grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back.  
  
Sabrina said something that my G-rated fingers cannot type.  
  
May and Jacey's images disappeared as Sabrina sent a wave of Psychic energy at him. Rob flew back into the wall, while Sabrina concentrated all her energy into keeping him there, trying to crush him.  
  
While Sabrina was occupied, I ran and grabbed Jess's limp body, which had fallen to the floor.  
  
Where was May?  
  
I realized that Rob would have really been crushed if Sabrina was using all her power. May was concealed somewhere in the room.  
  
I grabbed an extra Pokeball and threw it at the back of the Psychic witch's head. Her concentration broke.  
  
A cage fell from the ceiling. It had been kept invisible and floating by her supernatural abilities. The cage burst open, and May jumped out. She was tough. Ross got up and charged her. She held up a fist, which he ran into. He fell, a black eye inevitable.  
  
Sabrina was mad. She held her hand out to our group, and we were all thrown back against the wall, which crumbled with our weight.  
  
Umbreon and Shadow both came out of their Pokeballs on my belt. I had nicknamed Umbreon "Moonlight".  
  
Dark was strong against Psychic, and the Pokemon sensed it.  
  
Both used Faint Attack, vanishing and running at Sabrina. They reappeared almost on top of her, knocking her to the floor.  
  
We got up and I told the others to run. They ran through the entry room, on the other side of the wall we had destroyed.  
  
I recalled my Dark Pokemon, but not before Moonlight gave Sabrina a look that might have killed her, if looks could really kill.  
  
Sabrina tried to lift me up and pull me back psychically, but the Dark presence messed up her powers.  
  
I ran out of the building, but almost ran into Jack. The group had been stopped by…guess who? Paul and Ryan. They were already halfway through their little theme song.  
  
"Ryan!"  
  
"Paul!"  
  
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"  
  
"Surrender now, or prepare to—oof!"  
  
May had socked Paul in the chin. "Look, you two are really startin' to tick me off! Shut up and go away!"  
  
They slunk away cautiously, then Ross jumped out of the Gym and tackled her. She grabbed his neck, but he bit her finger, causing her to dig her long fingernails into his neck.  
  
He slapped her across the face, and she let go. He crawled away.  
  
That girl was psycho!  
  
The three members of Team Rocket turned tail and headed for the hills.  
  
* * *  
  
Jess regained consciousness later. We decided that we had to get out of Saffron. Once Sabrina regained her powers, she'd be wanting revenge.  
  
We used Greenbat to fly to Pewter. The closest way to Cinnabar Island was through there. We would go through Viridian Forest, to Viridian, then on to Pallet's sea route south to Cinnabar. 


	13. Training Hall

Chapter XIII  
  
Training Hall  
  
Pewter was still as gray as ever when we landed. The only thing missing from when I first arrived was the Grunt guarding the Gym.  
  
I remembered seeing his face for a second. Then I realized that the Grunt had been Paul! That's why his commands had been so familiar…  
  
And his Murkrow! That was his bird!  
  
I was mad. How had my friends turned against me? Giovanni had brainwashed them. Maybe they hadn't exactly been on friendly terms with me, but he made them hate me!  
  
I had to stop him. Especially to stop him from conducting more experiments with Pokemon. Shadow, Cacti, Darkning, and Goldark had all been messed with.  
  
It was my place to make sure no more Pokemon were harmed. My Pokemon needed just a few more battles and I'd be heading to Johto.  
  
I thought I might stop by the Viridian Gym once there to check CheatKing for Blue's stats, but I decided to wait 'till I had defeated Blaine to challenge Blue.  
  
We headed south towards the newly-replanted Viridian Forest. Suddenly, a guy in jeans, a short-sleeved jacket over a black shirt, and a red hat jumped out of the bushes! He looked familiar, but I couldn't place his face.  
  
"Aha! I knew I would find you here!" he said. His voice was also familiar. "Where is that guy who's been following you, but then left?"  
  
Guy who was following… "Oh, Philip? We don't know where he went, but he should be meeting us somewhere soon," I said.  
  
"When did you split up?"  
  
"He left us in the Celadon Gym and headed towards the Fearow Station," said May.  
  
"Thanks. I'll find him and tell him you're waiting for him," said the guy, and he disappeared into the trees.  
  
"That was weird," said Rob.  
  
"Yeah. Who was that guy?" asked Jack.  
  
As we continued, Jess was a little cautious, as there were Bug Pokemon all over the place. May just rolled her eyes at Jessica's fear of Bugs. Bug fear was also a trait of a girl who used to follow Red around…  
  
`That was it! I once watched a documentary on the life of Red. He played himself on the show, so I knew his voice, his clothes, his face! "Guys, that was Red!" I said excitedly. "Red's out and about! He might be able to help us with Team Rocket! Find him!"  
  
We wandered around in the forest forever, trying to find the stranger. But there was no sign of him. I found a set of footprints, but they led to a wall. "What the…?"  
  
I looked up to the top of the wall, but I heard a scream. Jessica! I ran towards it, but I found May, cornered by a huge Beedrill! Looked like she wasn't as tough as she claimed to be. If the Beedrill hadn't been so big, I would have laughed.  
  
"Throw a Pokeball!" I yelled. Rob came tearing out of the top of a tree. He had climbed it to get a better look for Red, but he heard May's scream. He tackled the bee, but it hit him with its wing, and he fell off.  
  
May threw an Ultra Ball, capturing the Bug-Poison combo.  
  
"Well, if the trauma is over, it looks like Red has already headed to Saffron. We need to get on to Viridian," I said, helping Rob to his feet.  
  
We finally found the path we were on before Red showed up, and continued to Viridian. Once there, I checked the Gym, but Blue had left a month before we got there.  
  
We checked out Beedrill at the Pokemon Center, but as we left, Jack saw the Training Hall. Well, I did need a little more training before Blaine. We went in. Inside was an entire building devoted to Pokemon training!  
  
A sign said that training with other Trainers was upstairs. I ran up the stairs, to find…  
  
You get three guesses, and the first two don't count.  
  
I let them finish their song before I said, "Okay, let's just battle!"  
  
They decided that Ross had to battle me, as the other two already had been beaten. He only had one Pokemon, so he borrowed some from his partners.  
  
He used his Pokemon first, which was a slimy Ditto. I sent out Bubbly, who I would use against Blaine. Ditto became a pink-tinged Azumarill.  
  
Ross told it to use Rollout, so it rolled into a ball and came at mine. "Defense Curl!" I yelled, so Bubbly curled up and stayed still, letting Ditto hit it, but the Rock disadvantage plus the protection of Defense Curl reduced the damage by three-fourths!  
  
"Bubblebeam!" I commanded! Azumarill blew out a blue beam of light, surrounded by bubbles.  
  
Ross pulled out a small bag and sprinkled some weird powder from it onto Ditto. If I was right… I checked my Pokedex. Metal Powder! I knew it. That would strengthen Ditto's defense, probably by a lot.  
  
The Bubble beam bounced right off, but not before the powder fully hardened Ditto's body. Slight damage…  
  
The beam arced towards the empty staircase. At least I thought it was empty… Jess's head popped up! "Jessica! Get your head down!" I screamed at her. She ducked right at the right moment. The bubbles smashed into the banister, popping.  
  
The beam came back towards the opposite wall, but hit the metal plaque on the wall, reflected back at Ditto, whose back was turned. The beam was moving so fast, it caught the pink Aquarabbit off-guard.  
  
I looked at the Hall's plaque, which had said, "Voted Best Pokemon Training League in the Country by Pokemon Beat Magazine." Now, it had a huge hole, and it read, "Voted Best Country by Pokemon Beat Magazine."  
  
Well, there's some country spirit for Kanto…  
  
Ross looked at his Ditto, which was a melting Azumarill. "R-r-return. How'd ya do that?"  
  
"Do what?" I asked. "Make that blast come back at my Pokemon." He stared at me in wonder. "C'mon guys, let's go back to the base."  
  
Paul opened the window, and they jumped out, wings popping out of their backpacks. They glided off to another rooftop.  
  
I recalled Bubbly and turned to the stairs and Jessica. "You okay?" I asked her. She nodded. "What is with those three? They won't leave you alone. It's like Jessie and James with Red."  
  
I laughed. "Yeah, they do act like those two."  
  
Suddenly, I remembered Ryan's dad:  
  
He had long purple hair, and his mom had really long red hair! 


	14. Journey's End

Chapter XIV  
  
Journey's End  
  
I walked out of the Training Hall into the night. The sun had set while we were helping the owner clean up Team Rocket's mess.  
  
"So the infamous Jessie and James finally got married?" asked Rob. "Yeah, and Ryan is their blasted son," May replied, but "Blasted" is the, um, censored version. Jack laughed, but Jessica scowled and said, "Watch your language!" She was back to her old self, I thought.  
  
Suddenly, a girl in Rocket garb ran out in front of us. "Am I late?" She was short, with dark, curly hair. "Let me guess," I said. "Corey?" She nodded. "Ryan took off about an hour ago." She ran in the direction I pointed, where Ryan and his partners had flown off.  
  
I laughed. "What's so funny?" asked Jess. "And why did you help her?" I pointed at her and said, "That, my dear Jessica, was your original partner. She 'couldn't make it' as Ryan said, so he came to help you in Vermillion." She laughed, too. "'Am I late?' By about two weeks!" We all laughed as we headed south, towards Pallet Town.  
  
I pulled out a Repel right when we reached the green grassy areas of Route 1. "This should keep away those pesky level 2 Pidgey and Rattatta." I sprayed it all over the others and myself.  
  
"Here's the final stretch!"  
  
We ran through the grass. It was cool, and felt good on my legs. Out of nowhere came a little Rattatta! I tried to avoid it, but I slipped on a puddle of water and fell on the grass. Jess tripped over me, and we all fell in a laughing heap.  
  
"Hey, guys, let's camp here tonight and walk the rest tomorrow morning," said Rob, who was apparently an Apricorn Scout. He had a good idea nonetheless.  
  
As we rolled out the sleeping bags, I heard a voice above me. "Jim!" I heard, but I looked up and saw nothing.  
  
I drifted off to sleep, but right before darkness took me, I saw a Fearow fly above me. I don't know if it was my "Drowzee-ness", but I could swear I saw people riding it!  
  
I had no weird dreams that night.  
  
* * *  
  
The morning was clear. My Repel had worn off, but with Moonlight leading the way, the Pokemon left us alone.  
  
We finally arrived at the pink-tinged town of Pallet. It was pretty small, with only a few buildings.  
  
One was labeled "Red's House", but the lights were out. "Blue's House" looked like Blue was in. Or Daisy, his sister.  
  
We knocked. Blue answered the door.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Hi, we wanted to know if you knew where Red was. We heard that he has returned home."  
  
"Well, he took off about a week ago. He mentioned something about Snorlax and Jim…"  
  
"Well, he found me, but he disappeared again."  
  
"Oh, so you're Jim! Red's been watchin' you. Are you off to Cinnabar?"  
  
"Yes, I am," I answered.  
  
He invited us in, and Daisy served us a little breakfast. We talked, then he said, "Well, you'd better get going if you want to reach Cinnabar by dark."  
  
We left, and went to Professor Oak's house. A sign said he had moved to White, which we knew. As I looked in the window, I saw that he had taken all of his equipment, too.  
  
I ran out to the water. Bubbly couldn't take us all the way to the island. Neither could Goldark… "Rob, can we use your Lapras?"  
  
He came up to me, and was about to throw the Ultra Ball…  
  
"Jim!"  
  
I heard the voice above me again. I looked up and saw four huge Fearow swoop down and land in the shallow coastline. Seated on the lead bird were Philip, Ty, Bryan, Brock, Lt. Surge and Blaine!  
  
Philip jumped off and ran to me.  
  
"Here's what I had to do! I ran to the Fearow Flying Taxi service and rented four large Fearow. I flew all over Kanto and picked up everyone we knew, and came to get you.  
  
"We all agree that with all of our help, you can defeat Giovanni!"  
  
I just stared.  
  
* * *  
  
We soared into the clouds. I had checked in with my mom and Oak, and they were overjoyed to know that I was headed to Johto.  
  
Rob, Jess, Jack, May and me all rode on the fourth Fearow, which had been empty except for Kendra, who had been flying it.  
  
I looked over at the other two birds.  
  
Jerry the Camper, Brock the Gym Leader, Philip, Katy the girl from Cerulean Gym, the entire Pichu Fan Club, Pink, Copycat, Ty, Bryan, whose hair was going blond again, Lt. Surge, the members of the K.P.F. other than Harris, the ones who had stayed in jail and had now been released, the real Jacey and Megan, and the other Megan were all there, riding the larger Fearow.  
  
A Charizard flew up next to us, Red riding it. "Hey!" I called. "Why did you want to see Philip?" He smiled, and said, "He had my Snorlax." I laughed, thinking of the Philipballs.  
  
We landed in Vermilion, where Bryan told the man taking tickets at the S.S. Aqua that we were on police business, so we all got on for free.  
  
* * *  
  
The salty wind in my face, I stood at the front of the boat. Jessica came up behind me and took my hand. "Are you nervous?" she asked. "I was, but now I've got friends to back me up in the coming fight!"  
  
We headed onward, towards Kanto and Giovanni's defeat!  
  
End Book 1 


	15. Arrival in Johto

Book 2  
  
Chapter 15  
  
Arrival in Johto  
  
I watched the sun set on the S.S. Aqua. An elderly man came up to me. "Excuse me, young man."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"A friend of yours has told me of your exploits in Kanto and what you are about to do in Johto. I want you to know that I'm proud to know that not all of your generation is corrupted.  
  
"And I want you to have this."  
  
He held a small Pokeball out to me. "This was my best Pokemon while I was out adventuring, and I can't train it any more. This Pokemon was born to battle."  
  
I took it. "Thanks, sir."  
  
He walked away and into his cabin. I turned and looked at the rising moon, which was half full. Another weird thing, because I had let Shadow howl at it the night before…  
  
I sent out the Pokemon, which was a small Teddiursa: a little bear with a moon- shape on its forehead and little claws.  
  
Jessica came out of the bathroom. "Hey, Jim… what's that?" she asked.  
  
The little bear sucked on one of its tiny claws. "Aw, that is so cute! When did you get it?"  
  
"A guy just gave it to me."  
  
"Wow! For free?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
A voice came over the PA. "Now arriving at Olivine Port in Johto."  
  
All of us piled off. We had met up with Hope onboard, and she was now with us.  
  
Our huge group separated to get food and to recover from seasickness. I wasn't hungry, so I stayed at the shore and walked around.  
  
I could see the three islands out on the sea: Cianwood City on one, the Whirl Islands on the other two.  
  
I trudged in the sand and shells for a while. A small group of rocks looked inviting, so I headed over to rest.  
  
I sat on one of the smoother rocks and watched a Shellder wash up on shore and a Krabby stumble along sideways. A fisherman sat on the dock with his Good Rod and bucket of bait.  
  
I heard a voice. It sounded like someone was crying. It also sounded familiar. I hopped off the rock and looked around. I saw it: a girl huddled by a rock, sobbing.  
  
"May?"  
  
She looked up and swore. "What on earth are you doing here?" (She really said something else, but…)  
  
"May, are you okay?"  
  
She jumped up. "Yeah."  
  
"Look, I'm your friend. Don't try to hide. You can tell me."  
  
"No, I can't."  
  
"Yes, you can. I won't tell anyone."  
  
"Not even Jessica?" I winced at how loathingly she said her name.  
  
"No, not even her."  
  
"Okay, but this is gonna sound stupid. My grandmother died. We were…kinda close."  
  
"That's not stupid. I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay, but…"  
  
"But what?"  
  
"My family can't afford a funeral, so they're just gonna bury her and I don't get to say good-bye…" She broke off into tears.  
  
I didn't know what to do, so I hugged her. She came willingly into my arms, and I embraced her.  
  
* * *  
  
There he was.  
  
With her.  
  
I knew she was moving in on him from the beginning.  
  
Her and Rob? An item? Just a ploy to get at Jim.  
  
I stood up on the cliff above the shoreline and watched Jim, my boyfriend, hug that…that…  
  
Argh!  
  
I used my Team Rocket training to do a flip off the cliff onto a rock behind them. Silently.  
  
"Well, what have we here?"  
  
They jumped. May straightened up and glared at me. "Whadda you want?"  
  
"My boyfriend."  
  
Jim jumped in. "No, Jess, it's not like that. I was comforting her."  
  
"Yeah, right."  
  
"No, he's telling the truth!"  
  
"You would take his side!"  
  
"I'm not taking sides! Who was talking to him? Not you!"  
  
"Girls, cool it…"  
  
"Stay out of this!" we both yelled.  
  
He backed away and watched.  
  
"I've known you were trouble ever since I regained my memory!"  
  
"Yeah, well I knew you were his girlfriend! I'm not attracted to him!"  
  
"Okay, now yer in for it!"  
  
Jim stepped in between us. "Listen, Jessica. We were talking. You jumped to conclusions. May was upset, and I was trying to make her feel better. You really can't understand that other people have feelings too, can you?"  
  
That ticked me off. I rattled off a couple bad words and stormed off.  
  
"You think you maybe were a little harsh?" asked May, which I heard even from a ways down the beach.  
  
"No. She's different from when I met her. She used to be nice. Team Rocket changed her."  
  
* * *  
  
I headed back in the city. I was ready to get on the road.  
  
I approached Bryan, who was in the diner. His hair was blond again.  
  
"Um, Bryan, if you don't mind me asking, where does that sword keep coming from?"  
  
"What sword? Ahhh!"  
  
I laughed. "Anyway, we need to get moving. Team Rocket could be taking over Ecruteak by now."  
  
Jessica didn't talk to me again for most of the journey… 


	16. Soldiers, Scouts, and Hicks

Chapter XVI  
  
Scouts, Soldiers, and Hicks  
  
The parade headed north from Olivine onto Route 38.  
  
As we passed MooMoo Farm, Jack and Rob asked if we could go Miltank-tipping. Gobryan fingered the hilt of his sword and glared at them, so they changed their minds.  
  
I thought the farm was a good idea, so I let everyone take a rest while I walked through the field to the house.  
  
Inside was Courtney, the farm girl who had inherited all the Miltank and Tauros after her father passed away. She saw me and went nuts.  
  
"Holy self-milkin' udders! It's Jim!"  
  
"Um, yeah. Hi."  
  
"What brings Johto's savior to mah farm?"  
  
Her accent reminded me of a certain character from the hit comic book series "X-Mon"...  
  
"Well, I wondered if I could borrow one of your Miltank for the upcoming battle."  
  
"Oh! Of course! Come an' pick yeh one out, choice beef-like!"  
  
I took one that my Pokedex said was really strong, bid good-bye to the ecstatic Courtney ("Y'all come back now, y'hear?") and returned to our small army.  
  
Bryan and I took the lead. Rob and Jack followed behind us, May and Philip, then everyone else back to Jessica slowly trudging along behind.  
  
"So, how was Farm-Girl?" asked Bryan.  
  
"She was a stereotypical hick."  
  
* * *  
  
We passed the barrier between 39 and 38.  
  
Amazingly, there were no Team Rocket agents guarding the path.  
  
Route 38 was an annoying maze of fences, which Gobryan hacked up with his sword.  
  
We stopped at the city limits of Ecruteak. Rob and Todd the Camper were sent ahead to scout, both being Apricorn Scouts.  
  
They came back with some strange news: the city was completely free of black-garbed Rockets! It was just as it had always been, except for the fact that most of the inhabitants of Goldenrod were living there.  
  
We moved into the city. The scouts were right. It looked like Team Rocket had not moved anywhere past Goldenrod, into any cities.  
  
I set two guards at each entrance to keep an invasion lookout. If anyone in a black jumpsuit approached, they would sound the alarm, alerting us all to be ready.  
  
I chose a small force to come with me on to Goldenrod to attack. Everyone with strong Attack powers came with me, Defense stayed back to defend Ecruteak, which we had established as our base.  
  
Bryan, Philip, Rob, Ty, Jack, May, Jessica and I were the Attack group. Everyone else Defended.  
  
"Let's go," I said loudly.  
  
We marched down Route 35. As I saw the city gates, I also saw black jumpsuits by the entrance. I raised my hand, and several Flying Pokemon dived down and drove them away.  
  
We headed on, our Pokeballs in hand; ready to strike with an attack if necessary.  
  
Hiding behind buildings, we threw Smoke Balls all around us.  
  
"Hey, what's that smoke?" asked one guard.  
  
"What the...?" began the other, but he was cut off.  
  
We snuck up on them and tied them up.  
  
I saw a nearby tree and yanked a branch off of it. I threw more Smoke Balls and then whacked more guards with it.  
  
We eventually took out most of the thieves. I approached the Tower.  
  
"Okay, team. I'm goin' in, but you guys stay here."  
  
"Jim..."  
"No, Jessica. I need to do this alone. You will just get in my way."  
  
I grabbed my stick and walked to the door of the Radio Tower, new headquarters of Team Rocket. Entrance to their secret lab and base of operations underground. Office of Giovanni.  
  
It was go time.  
  
* * *  
  
I kicked the door open. Before I stepped in, I looked back to Jessica. She had always helped me before, but we had broken up, I guess. But she was gone. They all were.  
  
Where had they gone?  
  
It didn't matter. I was gonna go kick some Rocket butt.  
  
I walked inside. I had been there once, on a field trip at EPA. It had looked a lot different then. Much cleaner, and free of...  
  
Rockets!  
  
They were suddenly all over me. I spun and hit a guy over the head with my stick. Another one grabbed me around the neck. I took the stick and jammed it into his stomach. He fell.  
  
The next guy tried taking my stick, but I flipped it around, taking him with it. I heard his wrists crack.  
  
I pulled out all of my Pokeballs from my belt and the strap across my chest and tossed them at my opponents. They hit in the head, leg, chest, arm, then opened, releasing another danger to them: my Pokemon.  
  
I had also borrowed my force's Pokemon. Soon we had a melee on the first floor of the Tower! Shadow bit a guy's leg. Jess's Growlithe copied him.  
  
Crobat dove down and Tackled them, then used Confuse Ray to make them run into each other and the walls.  
  
Chinchou (which I had caught while fishing), Darkning, and Sparky zapped the living daylights out of several at once.  
  
Goldark, Starmie (Rob's), Lapras (also Rob's), and Feraligatr shot blasts of water into some of them.  
  
Some of the Rockets had also used Pokemon, so there was also an Ekans, Arbok, Koffing, Weezing, and a Voltorb running around.  
  
I held on to my best Pokemon, Puff, Moonstone, Moonlight, and Bubbly, to battle with, and ran to the stairs while the others were distracted.  
  
I Smoke Balled my way through the next four floors (it had five in all) onto the main floor and a large desk.  
  
A chair behind the desk had its back to me. "Show your face, Giovanni!"  
  
The chair swiveled around. There was nobody in it!  
  
I heard a noise behind me. A huge door, hidden in the wall, was opening.  
  
"So, Jim, you think you have the strength to defeat me?" a voice out of nowhere called. I spun around, trying to find the source.  
  
"Yes I do!"  
  
"Ha! You shall feel the sting of defeat! Feel the wrath of my Gundam!"  
  
Gundam? Ha ha.  
  
"So, what exactly can this `Gundam' do?"  
  
"It can crush the bones of insolent pests like you!"  
  
The door finally opened all the way, revealing a huge robot with rather large guns on the top of it.  
  
"Well, Jim, you need to see what will happen if you fail."  
  
"And what's that?"  
  
"Look behind you at those TV screens."  
  
I turned. There was an entire wall of screens, each for a different city.  
  
"You, see, Jim, I have a truck of my enhanced Pokemon warriors headed to each of those towns. And a boat headed to Cianwood. Once I press this button twice, a signal will be sent out to commence with our little invasion. Plus, the second press will destroy you."  
  
"You wouldn't kill me with that thing!"  
  
"You're right. You called my bluff. No, the guns on the Gundam are just for intimidation."  
  
A big man in an expensive suit stepped out from behind it. He held a strange rod with a button on the end.  
  
"You finally become brave enough to face me, huh?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"'Nope?' What?"  
  
He pressed the button once. Wings popped out from behind him. He flew up into the air. I looked up and saw him press the button again.  
  
"You have twenty seconds to get out of the building!" he yelled.  
  
I looked at the Gundam. A timer began counting down.  
  
20...19...  
  
I couldn't get down in twenty seconds!  
  
I pressed a button on my belt, recalling all my Pokemon into their Pokeballs and back to me, then I ran.  
  
But I ran away from the stairs. Toward the window.  
  
I smashed it with my stick...  
  
Then forgot I was afraid of heights.  
  
I turned to look at the timer.  
  
10...9...  
  
"Jim, jump!"  
  
"Jessica?"  
  
"Just jump!"  
  
"What about you?"  
  
"Go!"  
  
"Listen, Jess. I'm sorry about what happened. I care about you, but..."  
  
"Just go!"  
  
"I..."  
  
She pushed me.  
  
I fell through the window.  
  
2...1...  
  
I turned to the ground and could swear I saw a hole open up.  
  
The last thing that went through my head was,  
  
I failed. 


	17. The Residents of Johto

Chapter XVII  
The Residents of Johto  
  
Darkness.  
That's all I saw.  
Everywhere.  
And then, a faint light. Out of the darkness.  
And a voice.  
Jim.  
It took a form. A human shape.  
Jim.  
The shape grew long blonde hair.  
"Jessica?"  
Jim.  
"But how did you survive the blast?"  
Jim, wake up!  
My eyes flew open. Standing over me were May, Rob, and...  
"Whitney?"  
She was pale. Her eyes were surrounded by extremely dark circles. Her body was very thin and wasted away.  
I sat up. I was in a large cavern, not unlike the one under the Gym in Celadon.  
"This is the other side of the tunnel, isn't it?"  
Whitney nodded. "After kidnapping Erika, they just sealed it off, since they had no use for it. We moved in and turned it into our HQ."  
"Who's we?"  
"The residents of Johto."  
She helped me up. I looked and saw hundreds of people.  
"Oh, monkeys. What happened to Ecruteak?"  
Monkey was kinda my catchphrase.  
Anyway...  
"Where's my defense force? Where's Kendra?"  
I had appointed Kendra leader of the defense at Ecruteak.  
"Here I am..."  
"What happened?"  
"Jim, it's not my fault! I'm sorry. They came from everywhere. All around us. We were surrounded, with no time to fight back."  
"Who surrounded you?"  
"The Pokemon. The altered ones."  
Holy crud.  
"More altered Pokemon?"  
"Yes. Whitney showed up. She led us to a manhole. We all jumped in, and she sealed it. No one can get in from above."  
"Good idea."  
I began checking off who all was accounted for.  
"Rob, Jack, where had you guys gone when I went in?"  
"Bugsy brought us down here, too. Right before the explosion."  
"Okay."  
Bryan, check. Hope, check. Todd, check. KPF, check. Jessica...  
"Where is Jessica?!?" I yelled.  
"I...um...she..." began Philip.  
"Where is she?"  
May tried to calm me down. "Jim, blast it, she followed you into the tower. She pushed you out the window, sacrificing herself."  
Censored...  
I was stunned. I had known that, but my mind would not let it click into place.  
"She's really gone this time, isn't she?"  
I nodded without realizing it, then slumped to the dirt floor.  
I wanted to cry.  
But I was too busy with my hatred to deal with my sadness and grief.  
Giovanni killed her. She was dead. He was trying to kill her, and she was killed instead...  
Giovanni was goin' down.  
***  
"All right, here's the plan:  
"We're gonna retake each city, one by one. We're sending a force to each side of Johto. One to New Bark, one to Blackthorn. Leave two team members in each city to keep it under our command. Make sure that every Pokemon can stand up to a Dark-type.  
"Johto residents, you'll follow Red to Blackthorn. You have more members, so you can leave two behind each time, and there are more cities between Goldenrod and Blackthorn than Goldenrod and New Bark.  
"Kanto team, you're with me. We'll go to New Bark. I also have reason to believe that our friends Ryan, Ross, Paul, and Corey will be that way, so be on the lookout."  
I looked at all my friends and the eight Gym Leaders from Kanto. I turned to the unfamiliar faces that lived in Johto and the nine (with Red) Leaders from Johto.  
"Everyone who does not wish to sacrifice their lives for their country and their Pokemon is welcome to stay here at HQ."  
Whitney stepped forward. "I believe I speak for everyone when I say, let's go kick some Rocket butt!"  
Everyone cheered.  
Ten minutes later, everyone was ready to go. I called Falconer from Violet to ask him which way to New Bark.  
"I'll show your group the way," he replied.  
Falconer was a kid about my age, with blue hair that drooped over one of his eyes.  
I called to the other team. "Move out!"  
And off we went.  
Philip had put together some new Pokeballs. He called them War Balls. They were like the Philipballs, without the ID mess-up and they could catch two Pokemon at once, so we were able to create a diversion from cave Pokemon.  
We captured a ton of Zubat, Spinarak, Geodude, Onix, and their evolved forms (Golbat, Ariados, and Graveler) with those.  
We would use the Zubat for an aerial attack, Spinarak for attacks from inside buildings, Geodude for underground ambushes.  
We passed a hole in the ceiling that Falconer pointed out as the house into Ilex forest. It was covered, of course.  
I said nothing in reply, or for the rest of the journey. I was determined to defeat Giovanni, and I needed to save my strength for that. 


	18. Gold's Hometown

Chapter XVIII  
  
Gold's Hometown  
  
We followed Falconer down the tunnel. I saw a sign labeled Violet and knew we were close.  
  
I flipped my backpack off my back and opened it while we were walking. I searched through it. I was trying to find my CheatKing cartridge to track our position in the tunnel. At the bottom I grabbed something like a string.  
  
I pulled it out. It was a small gold heart-shaped locket on a gold chain. I had given it to Jessica for her last birthday. How had it gotten into my bag? Hmm…  
  
I hit the little button on the side, and it swung open. Inside was a tiny picture. I squinted to see it in the dim light. She had placed a picture of me inside. My last school picture, which looked terrible.  
  
I swallowed back the lump forming in my throat. "Jessica…" I said under my breath. I missed her. I can't believe I didn't push her out. I let her push me. I let her sacrifice herself. I let my girlfriend die.  
  
And why?  
  
I had no idea. I didn't know why I let her stay there, in the tower. That Gundam exploded right in that building and Jessica had still been in there.  
  
What was that Gundam there for, if nit to shoot me up? Just to blow it up? Just to destroy, and kill other people? Waste of money, if you ask me.  
  
"Jim, we're here," said Bryan.  
  
He had the sword. Where'd that sword come from?  
  
No matter. We were at New Bark.  
  
I looked up and saw light coming between the cracks of the little cover on our hole.  
  
Falconer's shoulder-Pidgey flew up and knocked the cover off at his command.  
  
We climbed up the narrow ladder.  
  
I saw Bryan, then Falconer, then Philip, then Jack, then Rob, then May all disappear into the light.  
  
That came out wrong.  
  
My head popped out into the sunlight. I had to shield my eyes from the harsh rays. We had been in that tunnel for hours.  
  
I pulled out a pair of sunglasses and slipped the locket around my neck, hiding it under my shirt.  
  
"Let's go," I said.  
  
We jumped behind a small building. I looked around the corner. There were several guards patrolling the area around Professor Elm's lab.  
  
"Ground team at the ready."  
  
Everyone pulled out two Army Balls with Geodude, Graveler, and Onix.  
  
"Ready, throw!"  
  
We all threw the spheres. Out came the Pokemon, who immediately burrowed into the ground.  
  
I looked around the corner again to see three of the silent sentinels disappeared underground without a scream.  
  
I laughed.  
  
"Take this over, Giovanni."  
  
Eventually all the guards were taken care of. I ran to the lab, pulling out my tree branch as I went.  
  
The door was locked. I shattered a window and jumped in.  
  
The place was deserted, all the equipment gone. I noticed a door in the back. I turned the knob.  
  
"Get away!"  
  
A piece of metal flew at my head. I ducked just in time.  
  
"Elm?"  
  
"Who's there?"  
  
"It's Jim."  
  
"The guy who wants to save the country?"  
  
"That's me."  
  
"Oh."  
  
A head came out from behind a makeshift barrier.  
  
"It is you!"  
  
* * *  
  
Professor Elm joined us as we tried to retake the town. He had a spare supply of Pokemon he had saved from the ransacking of his lab.  
  
We took out all the guards and found Gold's house. His mother was hiding inside. She had access to his computer and spare Pokemon, so we were on equal footing with big man Giovanni himself.  
  
We checked all over, but Gold's mom and the Prof. were the only people that hadn't gone into hiding after the attack.  
  
"Guys, what about the genetically enhanced Pokemon that were supposed to be all over the place?" asked May as we walked out of the city.  
  
"I dunno…"  
  
I was interrupted as the earth began to quake.  
  
"What the…?" May was unable to say the curse word as she was thrown to the shaking dirt.  
  
The ground erupted! Large gray bulges began to grow from the ground! They looked somewhat like huge Diglett.  
  
"Darklett!" one said in a low voice. They had dark gray bodies with red noses.  
  
"These are the new genetic Pokemon?" asked Philip over the roar.  
  
"I guess so!" said Ty.  
  
I pulled out an Army Ball and tossed it at the Darklett.  
  
It was sucked into the ball in a red flash.  
  
I was wondering what happened to our Ground assault when they flew out of the dust.  
  
"Holy monkeys!"  
  
I recalled them and yelled, "Run!"  
  
We ran. And ran. And ran.  
  
We all stopped in the Pidgey-infested grasses of the north route.  
  
I pulled out Darklett's ball. "Guys, I caught one."  
  
They were all surprised.  
  
"Heal your assault teams so we can go back and try again."  
  
Everybody groaned.  
  
"Come on, we can do this! It's only our first city! There will be stronger Pokemon the closer we get to Goldenrod!"  
  
* * *  
  
We all slowly approached the limits.  
  
I saw the Darklett popping up and down all over the place.  
  
"Okay, Rob, it's time for Godzilla!" I told him.  
  
He pulled out an Ultra Ball, containing a Feraligatr.  
  
I pulled out Bubbly.  
  
We both threw them into the midst of the Darklett. They came out, pumping gallons and gallons of water from their mouths in two seconds.  
  
After five minutes, all that was left were a bunch of huge holes where the 'Lett used to be. Bubbly and Godzilla stood panting in the center of the town, dehydrated.  
  
We looked around and found a nest of little gray and black eggs. There was enough for everyone. I took one and transported it to Oak's lab in White.  
  
One city down… 


	19. Dragons in our Midst

Chapter IX  
  
Dragons in our Midst  
  
The tunnel led up to a wall. I looked up and saw a hole covered by a round piece of metal. We climbed up a ladder to reach the top. I lifted up the cover and moved it aside. It opened into a small cave. I recognized it as the Dragon's Den, a Dratini-infested grotto located behind the Gym in Blackthorn.  
  
"All right, team, keep an eye out for the gene-Pokemon," I told the true residents of Johto.  
  
My cell phone rang. "Hello?"  
  
"Red, it's Jim. Watch out for the Pokemon. We were ambushed."  
  
"Right. I'll remember that."  
  
"And try to catch some. They're pretty strong."  
  
"Okay, check back later."  
  
He hung up.  
  
Clair approached me. "What are we going to do?"  
  
"We're gonna go for the main building of the city. You know the most about the city, what do you think?"  
  
"Well, we'd better gain control of the Shrine in the middle of the cave. It's the most important place in this city."  
  
I looked and saw a small building out on an island. Most of the cave was filled with water.  
  
"All right. Who should be sent to make sure it's safe?"  
  
"I'll go."  
  
It was an unfamiliar voice. A young man came up.  
  
"Are you sure, Mike?" asked Clair.  
  
"Yeah. If there's anything there, Dragonair can handle it."  
  
He pulled out a Great Ball and sent out a long snakelike Dragon-type. He jumped on it, and they slipped into the water.  
  
"What time is it?" I asked.  
  
"Almost 6:30, Red," said Jasmine of Olivine.  
  
"Almost dark?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
The light from the mouth of the cave was beginning to grow dim.  
  
I could no longer see the other side of the cave. The water was dark.  
  
I heard small sloshes from the Dragonair. They stopped.  
  
Had Mike reached the island?  
  
Small ripples left over from his departure vanished into the darkness.  
  
I heard footprints on wet dirt. They stuck in the mud, making Mike pull them out each step.  
  
A scream emanated from the silence.  
  
"Mike!" yelled Whitney.  
  
She ran towards the water, almost splashing in. I grabbed her.  
  
"Wait."  
  
I plunged in instead. I swam through the pitch-black waters. My hand hit mud as I swept it forward.  
  
I pulled myself out of the water. I threw Blastoise's Pokeball to the other shore so they could get across.  
  
I brought out Charizard to light up the area. There was nothing there.  
  
No body. No footprints. Nothing.  
  
I looked up at the Shrine itself. There was something up on the roof!  
  
"Charizard, shed some light on this situation."  
  
As it looked up towards the roof, the flame from its mouth showed four figures, all kids. I squinted and saw that one was a girl, the others guys.  
  
They were all wearing black jumpsuits!  
  
One spoke. "To protect the world from devastation."  
  
"To unite the peoples within our nation."  
  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above."  
  
"Ryan!" "Ross!" "Paul!" "Corey!"  
  
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"  
  
"Surrender now, or prepare to…"  
  
They never finished. The roof crumbled, and they fell into the Shrine.  
  
A huge Dragon Pokemon rose out of the building. It looked like a gigantic shadowy Dragonite, with elongated wings that looked battered and torn, as if it had been in a long hard battle. Its eyes glowed a bright orange.  
  
"What is that thing?!?" I yelled.  
  
I threw all my Pokeballs.  
  
Snorlax, Pikachu, Charizard, Espeon, and Venusaur all attacked the huge monstrosity. As it was busy with them, I looked for Mike and our Rocket pals.  
  
I found Mike lying on the ground behind the giant Dragonite. Dragonair had been thrown up against a rock and it was lying on the water. I felt Mike for a pulse and checked my Pokedex for Dragonair's health. Mike was okay, but the dragon needed medical help.  
  
"Whitney!" I called.  
  
"Yeah?" she answered from Blastoise, coming across.  
  
"Get over here!"  
  
She jumped off into the H2O and swan towards me. I could see fairly well in the light of Charizard and the mutant's flames. I pulled her out of the water.  
  
"Get Dragonair to the Pokemon Center!" I told her.  
  
"Right!"  
  
She pressed the little button on the Ball and recalled the long Dragon, then ran to the mouth of the cave.  
  
I left Mike and ran back to the front of the Shrine. My Pokemon were still fighting the Dragon, but were losing.  
  
"Venusaur, use Vine Whip to wrap its legs!" I commanded. Two long whip-like vines came out of the large flower on Venusaur's back. They wrapped themselves around the gene-Pokemon's legs.  
  
I heard a shout: "Dragonight, break free!" I looked and saw one of the Rockets standing by the water. His partners joined him.  
  
"Blastoise, knock them into the water!" I commanded.  
  
The giant turtle-like Pokemon shot two huge blasts of water from the water cannons attached to its back. The jets slammed into the quartet of troublemakers, sending them careening into the cold water.  
  
"Pikachu, Thunder!"  
  
The little yellow mouse jumped up into the air and shot a huge bolt of lightning from its cheeks. It struck the Dragonight, who stumbled back.  
  
The large green monstrosity reached down and grabbed Pikachu.  
  
"Pika!!!" yelled the tiny Pokemon.  
  
Dragonight looked at the Pikachu and its eyes began to glow again, this time a deep green. They shot out a beam of the same color. Hyper Beam!  
  
The twin beams struck Pikachu with enough force to knock over a Snorlax.  
  
"Pikachu!!!" I yelled.  
  
The Dragonight blinked and the beams shut off. Pikachu came out with a yellow shield of electricity around itself. It had created armor with electricity to keep most of the force from the beams off!  
  
Pikachu had barely been touched by the death ray.  
  
"Espeon, Psybeam!"  
  
The red crystal on the purplish fox's forehead lit up, sending a multicolored blast at the Dragon. The beam hit right in the chest, and it toppled over.  
  
I threw a spare ball I found in my pack. Score! We had a gene-Pokemon. And it was a big one, too.  
  
I walked out to the rest of my team. "Where did Whitney go?" asked one young trainer.  
  
"She had to go help Mike's Dragonair."  
  
"Oh."  
  
We stepped out of the cave. Immediately we were surrounded. I pulled out Dragonight and let them have it.  
  
The huge Pokemon blasted the crud out of all my opponents. Fifty unconscious Rockets strewn all over the ground made it hard to reach the hospital.  
  
The Dragon was going to be all right. It just was hit on the head by one of the Hyper Beams right before the Pokemon rose from the Shrine.  
  
Mike was still a little woozy, though. He stumbled around, muttering to himself about the green light coming to take him away. 


	20. Mystic Water

Chapter XX  
  
Mystic Water  
  
We headed east from New Bark towards the tiny hamlet known as Cherrygrove. The route was short, and it was filled with enemy Grunts. Bryan and I whirled around, him with his sword, me with my stick. We knocked out all of them, jumping up and down ledges, spinning this way and that, hitting with wood and flat metal.  
  
Our little multitude (whoa, oxymoron) continued on. I walked grimly, because I was really ticked off. From what Red had reported, they had been ambushed by a huge gene-Pokemon. Giovanni was trying to kill us.  
  
He would not succeed. I would make sure of that, whatever it took.  
  
We would not die like Jessica had.  
  
He would not kill us.  
  
That was my only motivation: revenge.  
  
Right before the last little grass patch, I yelled out orders.  
  
"All right, as soon as we reach Cherrygrove, fan out and check for Pokemon.  
  
"Dwayne, you and the other members of the Federation go ahead to scout out Violet City."  
  
And we were out. I led the party out into the open.  
  
"Bryan, go!"  
  
He charged out without his sword. "What're you doin'?" I yelled.  
  
"I can handle this!" As he spoke, he went all blond.  
  
His hands shot out beams of energy at the guards, leaving them unconscious and stunned. One snuck up behind him while he was charging up for a "Kamehameha".  
  
"Bryan, look out!" yelled Janine, Koga's daughter and the Gym Leader of Fuchsia. He whirled around and yelled as a metal pipe came down at his head. With lightning reflexes, the police chief lifted an arm up and stopped the plumbing with a force that should have shattered his arm bone.  
  
He began yelling maniacally again. His hair grew longer and changed color, this time to a bright red.  
  
Not an orangey red, but real red.  
  
"Whoa!" yelled the guard as he was knocked back by a beam of immense power.  
  
"Bryan, are you okay?" asked Katy.  
  
He didn't answer, but just spun around with his arms touching at the wrists. A beam spun with him, creating a tornado of bright light that seemed to cut off right as he spun towards the group, so as not to hit us.  
  
All the Grunts and even a few Executives lay on the ground groaning.  
  
The entire group stood statue-still, gaping at the sight they had just witnessed. Mouths hung open. Meagan fainted. Rob caught her before she hit the paved street.  
  
We decided to take a rest before we tried to find our new opponent.  
  
I sat at a table by myself at the Pokemon Center, studying a map of Johto.  
  
"So, what do you think the next Pokemon we'll find will be?"  
  
I looked up to see the blonde Kendra.  
  
"I dunno. There might not even be one here, since the spot isn't very important. Giovanni may have thought that if we took it, it was no biggie."  
  
"Ah. Can I sit here?" She looked at the empty seat across from me.  
  
"Mm-hmm," I answered without lifting my eyes from the large map.  
  
"So, anything from Red?"  
  
"Not since the report about Dragonight."  
  
"That's a good thing, right?"  
  
"I guess."  
  
"Cool. Hey, I heard you go to Earl's in White."  
  
"Yeah. It's my 4th year."  
  
"I'm going to go there next year, for 4th year, too."  
  
"That's cool. Where were you going?"  
  
"The EPA in Violet. It was getting too easy for me, so my parents are sending me to the harder Goldenrod campus."  
  
"Too easy? You're insane."  
  
"No I'm not."  
  
"Yes you are."  
  
"Whatever. Anyway, what class are you taking this year?"  
  
"I don't know yet. You?"  
  
"Maybe the Pokemon Handling class."  
  
"That one is new, isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah. They just set it up for Pokemon that evolve by Friendship evolution."  
  
"So it tells how you get them to like you?"  
  
"Right."  
  
We kept talking for a while. Little did I notice that many people had left the Center and were almost ready to go.  
  
Suddenly, May burst in and yelled, "Has anyone seen Rob?"  
  
* * *  
  
I stood on the beach, looking at the sparkling water. Wait a minute. There was no reason for the water to be sparkling. Why was it?  
  
Was it Mystic Water?  
  
Hmmm… Could it be that this water was actually where the Water- strengthening item came from?  
  
There was a small island out in the middle of the water. I decided to swim out to it. I could get a better view of how far the water went from there.  
  
I jumped in (still wearing my clothes) and swam over to the little rock. When my hand touched the slick stone, I pulled my head up and grabbed it.  
  
I hauled my soaking body up onto it and shook off. Amazingly, the water had been calm, no currents. Not a wave rose and crashed up against the shore.  
  
Something was wrong with that.  
  
I put my feet in the water and tried splashing, but there wasn't even a ripple. The water felt like a gel. It became thicker the longer I had my foot in it.  
  
"Rob!" I heard from the shore.  
  
I looked and saw Jim, May and Kendra standing there waving to me.  
  
"Hi!" I called as if nothing was wrong.  
  
My foot was stuck in the water!  
  
"Rob, come on!"  
  
"Wait a minute!"  
  
"All right."  
  
I tugged hard. Nothing. I tried again, only to see the water creeping up my leg.  
  
The water was trying to get me!  
  
That sounded weird.  
  
The jellylike mass moved up my leg to my knee.  
  
"Ayaaah!"  
  
I kicked at it. That didn't help much.  
  
"Help me!"  
  
As the "water" sucked me farther in, a large shape grew in the water. It got bigger and bigger, until it was twenty feet tall and looked like a huge snake!  
  
"What is this?" I yelled.  
  
All it did was emit a large roar that sounded like a person screaming underwater.  
  
"Let…me…go!" I said, pulling hard and hitting at it with a clenched fist.  
  
Another roar was the only reply.  
  
"Jim!" I yelled.  
  
There was nobody on the shore. They had gone back to patrolling for Pokemon.  
  
And I had found it.  
  
"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!" I said.  
  
I began to tire from struggling. I calmed down and thought. Water serpents were a thing of legend. The way to defeat them was…  
  
…cut off their water supply!  
  
I pulled out a Pokeball which contained Feraligatr. The huge jaws of Godzilla would help, a lot.  
  
The giant blue gator leapt onto the dry part of the island.  
  
"Godzilla…chomp…the…water…"  
  
I almost passed out.  
  
But, in my last sight, I saw the croc lunge and bite down on the steadily flowing stream that was the snake's body. It fell apart, into tiny droplets of sparkling water.  
  
Darkness consumed everything.  
  
* * *  
  
"He's awake!" I heard someone call.  
  
I ran over to the soaked body lying on the bed.  
  
"Huh? How did I get here?" he asked.  
  
"Rob, you don't remember what happened?" I asked.  
  
"I remember the water serpent… Godzilla beat it, then I passed out."  
  
"Water serpent? We found you on the beach, unconscious."  
  
I wonder what had happened to him.  
  
I never found out. 


	21. Icy Hero

Chapter XXI  
  
Icy Hero  
  
(This chapter takes place during the Mystic Water incident.)  
  
After securing Blackthorn, we headed north to the Ice Path, a frozen cave leading from Mahogany Town. I remembered that the last time I went through here, the going was rough. But this time we were going backwards and there were no annoying rocks to push into little holes.  
  
We would just head through, assuming there were no annoying gene- Pokemon. Assuming.  
  
As soon as we got within ten feet of the cavern's entrance, an icy wind hit us. Everyone shivered almost simultaneously. Tiny ice crystals lined the edges of the entrance.  
  
I turned and called to everyone else, "If anyone has a low-level Fire Pokemon, please let us use them for heating. Too much heat will melt the whole cave on top of our heads."  
  
"I have one!" called a Youngster in the back. He sent out a small Cyndaquil. "Thank you," I said.  
  
The porcupine-like Pokemon ran about the group, its flaming back sending waves of heat to everyone.  
  
I stepped into the cave first, to make sure it was safe. Nothing attacked me, so I turned and motioned to the rest of the group. We all filed in, slipping on the ice at the mouth.  
  
Immediately inside was just a small room with a staircase to the side. I assumed we all had to go down. "Okay, everyone, wait here 'till I say it's safe."  
  
I carefully stepped down the first step. Alright so far… I continued to step number two. "So far so good," I muttered to no one in particular.  
  
My good luck prevailed until the third step down. It cracked. I tried to jump to the floor, but there was no traction on the frozen water and I fell with the rest of the stairs into a hole.  
  
Strangely, the hole looked like it had been dug with shovels…  
  
"Help!" I called. It echoed off the walls, but there the answer was not friendly.  
  
"They can't hear you!" said a familiar voice.  
  
"Team Rocket!"  
  
"Prepare for trouble!"  
  
"Make it double!"  
  
"To protect the world from devastation!"  
  
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"  
  
"Ryan!" "Ross!" "Paul!" "Corey!"  
  
"Team Roc--"  
  
"All right! Shut up and tell me what happened to the others!"  
  
"Sheesh! Fine! We took their Pokemon!" said the short girl.  
  
"Yeah! And then we tied 'em up and threw 'em into another hole!" said the little guy with blond shaggy hair.  
  
The buzz-cut Asian dude continued, "Now we're gonna take your Pokemon, too! You and your friends are such idiots!"  
  
"Yeah! Nobody can take on da Boss!" said the fourth figure.  
  
They pulled out a large magnet-like device and it extended down to me. They pushed a button and it began to glow. My Pokeballs flew out of my belt and onto the U-shaped device. I grabbed one and pulled, but it wouldn't budge! They were stuck!  
  
My hand slipped and I fell back against the ice. The device contracted up to the Rockets. They ran off, laughing evilly.  
  
"Come back here!" I screamed. Nothing.  
  
Could I climb up to the top? I kicked the wall hard and it stuck. I had a new foothold. I grabbed another irregularity in the wall and pulled myself up. But the handhold cracked off, and I fell down.  
  
I stood up and looked. That had been the only way out.  
  
I sat back down and sighed. We had failed. Totally and absolutely.  
  
Giovanni would win. It was all over.  
  
* * *  
  
"Bryan…"  
  
I was sleeping. It was dark. A voice was speaking to me.  
  
"Bryan. You are needed in the Ice Path."  
  
I woke up. How was I going to get to the…?  
  
Suddenly, I became Gobryan! I stood up and looked around. Everyone was standing around in the Cherrygrove hotel. We had stopped for a rest.  
  
I could rest later. Right now, I was needed at the Ice Path.  
  
"Cirrus!" I called, and a small bluish cloud from above answered.  
  
I jumped on and drew my sword. The cloud followed my thoughts. I directed it to swing around to Jim.  
  
"I'll be back later!" I called, flying circles around him.  
  
"Where're you goin'?" he asked, his head spinning to keep up with me.  
  
"Just keep going without me if I'm late!" I broke orbit and headed towards Blackthorn.  
  
I felt air currents and wind changes as I flew, commanding Cirrus to go higher or lower. The mystical cloud and I had a special mental link that let me control it without saying anything.  
  
I realized my sword was slowing me down and placed it back in the sheath on my back. It vanished, only appearing when I needed it.  
  
My ride slowed down, alerting me that I was near to the Path.  
  
I jumped off the cloud and it flew back into the bright blue atmosphere. I ran to the entrance of the cave and heard laughing. Several black-garbed jumpsuits ran out, carrying a bulging bag.  
  
"Hey, you! Stop!"  
  
They stopped. "You again!" said Ryan.  
  
"Stop following us!" called Corey.  
  
"Shut up, shorty!" said Paul.  
  
"Would you two stop arguing so we can fight this idiot?" yelled Ross.  
  
"You stay out of this!" they both yelled at him.  
  
I just stood and watched. "Hey! What about me?"  
  
They turned from their bickering and saw my blond hair. "He's all gold again!" said Corey.  
  
"Yeah! We better get outta here!" said Ross. They turned and ran back into the cold cavern. I followed.  
  
They stopped when they noticed the hole in place of the stairs. "The stairs are gone! We're trapped!" said Ryan, pointing out the obvious.  
  
I unsheathed my sword. "Where'd that sword come from?!?" asked Ross.  
  
"Same place as his blond!" yelled Paul.  
  
I threw my sword down and said, "I don' need the sword fer you creeps!" and came after them.  
  
They turned and jumped down the hole, grabbing the sides of a well-built hole. I saw Red lying at the bottom.  
  
They scrabbled up the side and ran more. I helped Red out and ran after the Rockets.  
  
They slid on the ice as they charged, almost dropping their loot several times. I used a Kamehameha wave to knock them all over. They sprawled on the slick white ice. The bag went spinning away.  
  
I saw everyone else tied up over to the side. "Bryan?" someone asked. "Where'd you come from?"  
  
I didn't answer, but ran to the robbers. I lifted my hands and my sword appeared in my hands. "Where'd that sword come from?" asked Paul. Why was it that every time I went somewhere, someone always asked that?  
  
I used the flat of my blade to knock them all out and cut the ropes of everyone. Opening the bag, I saw that it was full of Pokeballs! I returned them to their owners and escorted them all the rest of the way in the ice.  
  
As we reached the exit, I bade farewell to them and disappeared.  
  
* * *  
  
"Where'd he go?" I asked.  
  
"I'm not sure," said the little Youngster, "But he did come out of nowhere when he appeared."  
  
As we continued on, I heard a noise. "Everyone, stop!"  
  
We all stopped and I looked to my right. A vehicle was coming towards us. I stepped back just as it flew past.  
  
It appeared to be a blue minivan, with a crazy blonde driving.  
  
"Where'd that blonde come from?" asked Bugsy.  
  
"Same place as the sword," said Clair.  
  
"What sword?" I asked, since I had missed the action.  
  
"Exactly." 


	22. Dark Revolution

Chapter XXII  
  
Dark Revolution  
  
"Recall the experiments."  
  
"But, Giovanni…"  
  
"No buts, James!" I said. "Jim is capturing all of them. By the time he reaches us, we will have no way to stop him!"  
  
"Yes, sir…" said Agent Roberts. He walked away slowly.  
  
I fumed. How could he disobey me? Him, his wife, and his idiot son!  
  
All the Roberts family had issues. James, Jessie, and Ryan!  
  
Well, I had planning to do. I had had an idea the other day: we should move into White City, the international capital, bridging the gap between Johto and Kanto!  
  
We would attempt tomorrow. That was why I was recalling the army. Kanto could send in reinforcements to stop us.  
  
I couldn't let that happen.  
  
Too much depended on this to let them take me down…  
  
"Oh, sir?"  
  
"Yes, Roberts?"  
  
"I thought I should tell you that we captured several scouts from Jim's team near Violet."  
  
"So, who are they?"  
  
"The Kanto Pokemon Federation."  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey, everybody!!!" I called.  
  
Everybody stopped and looked at me.  
  
"I'm a bug," I practically whispered.  
  
I was wearing these crazy sunglasses that looked like bug eyes. We had stopped in Violet so that Kendra could check on her home. This was the location of the original EPA, so she went to check it out, too. I had found a little sunglasses shop, and I was trying them on.  
  
I found an orangey visor and tried them. I looked in the mirror and liked it. I left some money on the counter for the shopkeeper when he got back.  
  
I ran outside to see everyone going crazy.  
  
"What's goin' on?!?" I yelled.  
  
"We used a Pokedex to check for Pokemon. There are no Dark-types in the country!" screamed Philip.  
  
"Whoa!"  
  
Night had fallen, and I let out all my Pokemon so they could stretch.  
  
Houndour howled at the moon, which had not changed since I had seen it at Mt. Moon. As I watched, I saw it turn darker! Two-thirds were blacker than the night itself!  
  
Shadow continued to howl, and we suddenly had a new moon!  
  
I gasped as Shadow turned to me. Its eyes looked like they shone a dull red, but when I removed my visor-glasses, they were yellow!  
  
It opened its mouth and a wave of flaming death was hurtled at me!  
  
I had no time to move. The Fire Blast slammed into me, knocking me back. There was no burning, just a force so hard, it could keep a Snorlax down. I struggled to get to my feet, but I could not.  
  
The Blast became a Fire Spin, a horizontal vortex of fury. It burned. I stood up, the force gone. I looked straight ahead through the red and yellow madness hurtling towards me at extreme speeds.  
  
"Shadow! Stop this!" I yelled, but to no avail.  
  
I ran through the pain and tackled the dog-like creature, the skull it wore scattering away and striking a wall. The bone broke into a billion tiny pieces.  
  
I looked up and saw Cacti, Goldark, Darklett, and Darkning were attacking everybody! Cacti was shooting prickles at May, which she had to dodge. Goldark was pumping water by the gallons at Katy and Rob. Darklett was shaking the ground near (Go)Bryan and Falconer. Darkning was electrocuting Jacey, both Megans, and everybody else.  
  
But where were Kendra and the KPF?  
  
The Federation had not returned from their recon mission. Kendra was still at the school!  
  
I ran towards the Academy, and saw Miltank furiously throwing away rocks and debris from the building, which had probably collapsed from the fake Diglett.  
  
"Kendra!" I called.  
  
I helped the cow to move away a large metal beam. A torn arm poked out from under it. After more digging, we found her. She was bleeding and bruised, and she looked like she had a few broken bones.  
  
I dug more and uncovered the whole body. She was still conscious.  
  
"J-Jim…" she stammered.  
  
"Shhh. Don't speak. You're gonna be okay…"  
  
A howl came behind me. I turned to see a skull-less Houndour.  
  
"Don't move," I told the blonde to my back.  
  
"Miltank, Rollout!"  
  
The pink bovine rolled into a ball and quickly slammed into the dog. What was goin' on with these Dark-types?  
  
The dog fell back, already wounded by my earlier assault.  
  
"Thanks, Miltank."  
  
I spun and picked up the battered girl in my arms. I sprinted as fast as I could with the extra weight to the Pokemon Center, where I could hopefully find a bed to leave her for a while.  
  
"Take care of her as best as you can, Nurse," I told a Chansey. It nodded and rushed to her side.  
  
I went back out to find Bubbly attacking Darklett, Puff with Darkning, Sparky with Goldark, Pinky with Cacti. The others were trying to help the injured to the Center. I grabbed Katy's unconscious form and carried her to the building and placed her next to Kendra. I did the same with the rest.  
  
I returned to the darkness and saw the madness continue. How long had it been? Maybe it was almost morning.  
  
Suddenly, the sun broke over the horizon. The Dark-types fell to the ground, struck down by the first rays of the star. I recalled them and the rest of them.  
  
May came up to me, tiny scratches and cuts all over her. "I had a little run-in with your Grass-type. I almost killed it." She reached down and plucked a thorn from her leg.  
  
"Sorry. Somethin' about that moon drove them crazy."  
  
"Really?" she asked sarcastically.  
  
"Really really."  
  
She laughed. We headed to the Center. I guess we were the only ones that hadn't been seriously hurt.  
  
Why had all the Dark-types gone crazy by the darkness of the new moon? What had happened to all of the other Dark-types in the country?  
  
We needed to get back on the road. I had a feeling that Giovanni was planning something dark… 


	23. Final Leg

Chapter XXIII  
  
Final Leg  
  
"Move out."  
  
Several men rode out ahead on mutated Rapidash, to make sure no one would attack us. Various other mutants, such as Ursaring, Charizard, and Lugia, moved in front of us to do the same.  
  
I and the rest of the men, including the young team that had harassed Red, drove out in large tanks. I watched the radar for anyone coming our way.  
  
We were departing for White. Soon, the capital would be ours!  
  
* * *  
  
"Let's go."  
  
Several guys rode out ahead on Onix. Everyone else followed on foot. With May, Rob, Phil, and Jack at my side, we ran towards the Route which used to be blocked by a Sudowoodo. Gold had captured it long ago.  
  
Several severely wounded people were carried on cots, held aloft mentally by an Abra. It belonged to somebody, I wasn't sure who.  
  
We were running to Goldenrod. Soon, Team Rocket was goin' down!  
  
* * *  
  
"Okay, everyone, break's over!"  
  
We had been moving for a full day since we had found out that all the Rockets were gone. We had reached Mahogany, Ecruteak, and were resting in the National Park.  
  
We got up and slowly walked to Goldenrod. Man, were we tired!  
  
* * *  
  
We ran onto Goldenrod guns a-blazing. Or attacks as it were.  
  
It was completely deserted. The Tower still lay in ruins. But there were no jumpsuits, no red R on anything, absolutely no sign of Giovanni or his thugs.  
  
I climbed on top of the next tallest building and looked out into the distance. I saw a huge army moving towards us from the north, and another charging away through the Ilex Forest.  
  
"Red's coming, but Giovanni's gone," I told Rob.  
  
"Gone? Where?"  
  
"Maybe to White."  
  
"No way."  
  
"Yes. They're gonna take over the capital."  
  
"No they won't," said a voice behind me. It was Red.  
  
"We won't let them. They already took the Tower, our homes, Jessica and everything else important to us. We're gonna beat the crud outta those punks."  
  
"And how are we going to reach them?"  
  
"With my pal Abra here." He moved away to reveal the small yellow Psychic-type.  
  
"How's that little thing gonna beat them?"  
  
"Teleport."  
  
I was surprised. "That's got a powerful enough attack to send us all to them?"  
  
"Farther, even."  
  
"Where'd you get it?"  
  
"Jacked it from the traitor."  
  
"Sabrina?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Let's get movin' then."  
  
I gathered everyone up and briefed them on what would happen. I saw how big the group was, and how little the fox-like Pokemon was. We could do this.  
  
Every resident of Johto. Several of my friends from Kanto. A really big group.  
  
It was time to kick some black-garbed butt.  
  
* * *  
  
I opened the door on the ceiling of my tank and saw the city's skyline. Tall buildings swept the sky. Cars honked.  
  
I dropped the door and checked the radar. None of our friends had gotten anywhere near us.  
  
"All right. Let's get this party started," I said into the comlink to all the other tanks and the riders on the Dark Rapidash. I checked the radar again and gasped.  
  
Out of nowhere, Jim had appeared in the middle of the city!  
  
* * *  
  
The fuzzy feeling wore off after a few minutes. We had all arrived right on target in the middle of the city. I grabbed my phone.  
  
"Oak? It's Jim. Giovanni is coming."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Who should I alert to tell everyone what's going to happen?"  
  
"Hold on." He left the video-phone camera for a second.  
  
"All right. Speak."  
  
"Uh… Hello. This is Jim. I have been informed that Team Rocket is coming to invade the city. Please gather your Pokemon. We have to ward off the attack."  
  
"Thank you," said the Prof.  
  
"What just happened?"  
  
"I used an Alakazam to boost the message. Everyone heard it and is getting ready for the imminent battle."  
  
"Wow. Thanks."  
  
"Any time. I'll be there in a few,"  
  
"Bye."  
  
I hung up and turned to everyone. "Reinforcements are coming. Everyone send out your Pokemon."  
  
Out of nowhere came hundreds of tough-looking warriors, ready to take on anything old 'Vanni could throw at us.  
  
A few minutes later, thousands more appeared. Fire. Water. Electric. Ground. Grass. Psychic. Dark. Poison. Normal. Ice. Fighting. Flying. Bug. Ghost. Dragon. Steel. The good army.  
  
Oh, and, uh, Big Billy the Rock.  
  
I turned and looked as the wave of tanks and Dark hybrids advanced towards us. The evil army.  
  
Index finger pointed, I extended my arm, and I yelled one word:  
  
"Charge!" 


	24. This is War...

Chapter XXXIV  
  
This is War…  
  
Madness.  
  
That's what it was.  
  
Pokemon, clashing into each other.  
  
Humans, running towards a group of enormous battle-tanks.  
  
Attacks of all types flying 'round in a cyclone.  
  
Knocked-out bodies.  
  
I looked up and saw the lead tank, containing, no doubt, Giovanni.  
  
Murderer.  
  
I pulled out the tree limb that served as a bo staff. I ran as fast as I could and leaped. I hit the hood (or as close to a hood as you could get on a tank) and pummeled it with the stick.  
  
The battle-worn plank splintered. I pounded with my fists.  
  
"Come out, you coward!" I screamed. "You coward! Terrorist! Murderer!!!"  
  
"All right, whatever you say," said a voice from nowhere.  
  
The door on top swung open with a creak and a figure rose. It spoke. "Ah, Jim. I was hoping we'd meet again."  
  
"And why is that?" I fought to keep from hauling off and knocking him onto the big treads.  
  
"This is why." As he replied, the other doors opened and hundreds of Rockets jumped out.  
  
"Oh, it this supposed to scare me?" I spoke with more confidence than I had.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Too bad."  
  
"'Too bad'? What do you mean?"  
  
"This is what." I heard the commotion behind me. I didn't have to turn to know what it was.  
  
All the residents of Johto. All my friends from Kanto. All the entire population of White. And all their Pokemon.  
  
The madman's eyes widened in terror.  
  
"So, Giovanni, d'you still wanna fight?"  
  
"I guess not."  
  
"You guess not? That's it? No crazy statement of terrorism before you send your men at me?"  
  
"No. You win. I surrender." He held up a white flag.  
  
Several Officer Jennies ran up and climbed to the top of the tank. They arrested him on the spot. As they read him his rights, he said, "Jim, you beat me. And you were right. I am all those things you accused me of.  
  
"I killed Jessica. I took over Johto. I went back on my promise to Red."  
  
"Yes, you did," said Red. "You promised that your life of crime was over. But you came back. Why?"  
  
"Money. Power. All that good stuff."  
  
"You need help," I said coldly. "Take him away."  
  
They dragged him off to a squad car. I turned and walked toward home.  
  
How long had it been? Too long, however long it had been. Summer vacation was almost over.  
  
* * *  
  
As they put me in the car, I saw my adversary walk away. He had fought me. He had won.  
  
I hadn't seen such courage since Red himself. Or, his real name, Ash. Some day, Jim would be known as something like Black. Red and Gold had both done that. And their rivals, Blue and Silver.  
  
I saw the four brainwashed kids.  
  
"Oh, Officer? Those kids were brainwashed. We forced them to fight. Please release them."  
  
"Thank you. We will."  
  
Another blue-haired girl, the first's twin, ran up. "We have several missing people."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"First, four Bikers, who call themselves the KPF."  
  
I jumped in. "They're in the base, underneath Goldenrod. There's an entrance in the Underground Tunnel."  
  
"And Jessica."  
  
"Jessica is dead."  
  
"How?"  
  
"She died in the Radio Tower explosion."  
  
* * *  
  
After that, everything was basically normal. Or as normal as life could be when you save the world.  
  
I went back to school. A few times, I lectured the Dark class. I met new friends. May, Rob, Jack, Philip, and Bryan all returned home. All the students from the Violet campus had had to move, since their building burned down.  
  
I met all of them, gave a few autographs, celebrity stuff.  
  
The police found a satellite orbiting he moon. It had blocked the light. As it turned out, Shadow's howl had been a radio signal to continue to block it.  
  
All of the gene-Pokemon were sent to a small chain of islands south of Cinnabar and Seafoam, which had recently been discovered. I planned to go there one day.  
  
I didn't really grieve over Jessica. I knew that she was gone, and it wasn't going to help if all I did was cry about it.  
  
I moved on, met new girls. None of them took her place, though.  
  
I took the new Pokemon Care class that year. So did Kendra and a few of my other friends.  
  
There was Goliath. That was his nickname, though I never got his real one. He was a big guy. Real big. And strong, too.  
  
Next was Isaac. He was a little shorter than I was.  
  
And Bob. The kleptomaniac. He was a little weird, but in a cool way.  
  
Steve, a crazy guy. He was crazy, that's all I can say about him.  
  
Courtney, from the MooMoo Farm, came. Her voice was normal.  
  
"What happened to your hick accent?"  
  
"Daddy said that I should use it to get more customers."  
  
"Ooookay…"  
  
Carol, who was pretty normal. The only not-crazy person I knew.  
  
Ryan, Ross, Paul, and Corey showed up. They remembered nothing from being with Team Rocket. Their brainwashing had gone away.  
  
Life was pretty good. 


End file.
